Every year, Austin Pride selects LGBTQ+ community members to honor as grand marshals. Jeaux Anderson Jr., who attended UT from 2005 to 2010 and serves as director of community engagement at the Kind Clinic, was selected as one of this year’s grand marshals.
“I’ve been doing work within the Austin community for 15 years,” Anderson said. “I don’t ask for recognition — (to me) it’s more important to focus on ways that I can support the community and affirm our lived experiences and our needs without seeking the spotlight.”
Anderson’s journey in engagement began as a youth and community studies student, immersing himself in the Black Student Alliance, QTBIPOCA and the Presidential Student Advisory Committee. Anderson also helped establish Black Student Orientation, giving incoming students a sense of belonging.
“I did a lot (of work) at UT not knowing it was engagement,” Anderson said. “It wasn’t until I got into the professional world that I realized I had these skills I could use.”
In 2011, Anderson co-founded the Mahogany Project, a creative performance group Frank Washington, Anderson’s friend and collaborator, described as “‘The Vagina Monologues’ for Black gay men.”
“Year after year, we would perform, … but it was too many people to manage,” Washington said. “After four or five years, the group (said), ‘Hey, Joe, we don’t have the time or energy to continue. … But we will support you.’ So (Anderson) pushed it forward by himself.”
In announcing their selection, Austin Pride called Anderson “a celebrated poet, storyteller and community advocate.” Pride leaders said his bold authenticity and commitment to justice embody the 2025 theme: Silence = Death.
“He was so fitting (as a grand marshal), because that has been his sole mission,” Washington said. “He is a resistance unto himself. He is the example of what it means to resist with action.”
At the Kind Clinic, colleagues said Anderson’s work, informing the community about sexual health and HIV awareness, continues to merge healthcare and community. Kimberly Jones, a patient advocate supervisor, said he is a ray of light.
“Even on his bad days, he’s smiling,” Jones said. “I feel that’s something that people need because you never know how that may affect somebody’s day; that’s Jeaux.”
Anderson’s dedication expands beyond organizing events, using his lived experiences to connect and create a safe space for marginalized groups.
“I went to Philly Black Pride, not even knowing (it) was happening,” Anderson said. ”The girls were on the scaffolding, shaking ass. I said, ‘These are my people.’ I went back the next year, … they were dancing. … I (said), ‘This is what I want to create’ … I want a world in which we can go and feel joy, love and affirmed. That’s what I felt in Philly. I felt like my body size did not matter. I felt like my queerness was celebrated. … That is the feeling that I wanted to bring to Austin.”
On what he hopes people take away from pride this year, Anderson said he hopes people remember that LGBTQ+ people are powerful even in times of stress, doubt and discomfort.
“We’ve had to rely on our own communities (before), and we have the tools to ensure our survival,” Anderson said. “I want people to remember our power and to be honest, who the fuck we are.”
