Catching up with D. Rashaan Gilmore, founder, president and CEO of BlaqOut

D. Rashaan Gilmore is the founder and CEO of BlaqOut, established in 2017 as a grassroots movement to organize and mobilize Kansas City’s Black LGBTQ+ community and develop a leadership core.

BlaqOut is a disruptive innovator in the field of HIV testing and prevention, telehealth, and PrEP/PEP access. By focusing its efforts on improving healthcare access and wellness outcomes for the most marginalized, BlaqOut has created new pathways to better care for its core membership, Kansas City’s Black, LGBTQ+ community.

D. Rashaan Gilmore is a serial entrepreneur, community connector, organizer, and collaborator. He is particularly passionate about making a difference and has found a home for his voice in service of marginalized and stigmatized communities where he empowers individuals to assert their right to be visible and thrive.

Rashaan has directed Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) funded HIV prevention grants for a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). Rashaan received the 2020 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Equity Award for his work.

As a public speaker, researcher, and writer, Rashaan is a cultural and political analyst and commentator on radio, online, and on television. Rashaan hosted and produced the public affairs radio show “Unbossed and Unbothered with D. Rashaan,” which aired weekly on KKFI 90.1 FM.

Most recently, Rashaan served as host and moderator of “Flatland,” a live broadcast television show airing on Kansas City PBS, for which he won his first EMMY® Award in 2022. Gilmore followed that achievement with his second EMMY Award win for his work with Flatland in 2023.

Host/producer/engineer:  Donna Morrow Wolfe

Share This Episode