LGBTQ+ groups across the US are petitioning for a more inclusive Pride flag

LGBTQ+ groups across the US are petitioning for a more inclusive Pride flag

Members of the LGBTQ+ community are calling for a Pride flag that further incorporates Black, brown, and transgender voices.

In June, the Castro Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Cultural District (CQCD) in San Francisco voted to replace the Pride flag in Harvey Milk Plaza which dons the original Gilbert Baker design.

The vote was petitioned to Castro Merchants, a non-profit business association that has rights over the flagpoles, according to CNN.

Following the vote, the Merchants will have the penultimate say on whether the flag change will be made.

The CQCD Advisory Board voted in favour (7-2) to have the original Pride flag design changed to the Progress Pride Flag. The traditional rainbow flag was updated, in 2018, by activist Daniel Quasar.

This new variation was designed to better recognise the trans community, queer people of colour and to honour the lives of those who died due to AIDS complications. Quasar, who is queer and non-binary, said their aim was to “shift focus and emphasise to what is important in our current community climate.”

This updated flag includes black, brown, light blue, white and pink stripes alongside the original colours of the Pride flag. These added stripes have been included to recognise Black, Brown and transgender members of the LGBTQ+ community.

The Gilbert Baker Pride Flag was first unveiled at the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day Parade on 25 June 1978, the flag was created by American artist and gay rights activist Gilbert Baker to reflect the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community.

According to Baker, pink represents sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sun, green for nature, turquoise for magic, blue for serenity and purple for spirit. Following his death in 2017, California state senator Scott Wiener said Baker was instrumental in defining “the modern LGBT movement”.

The call for the changing of flags in prominent LGBTQ+ spaces is not a new occurrence. In 2017, Philadelphia unveiled a new version of its Pride flag which is called the More Colour, More Pride Flag. The flag includes both Black and Brown stripes to the traditional rainbow flag.

The Philadelphia-based campaign group More Colour More Pride debuted a brand new eight-stripe flag in 2017 to coincide with Pride Month. You can read our interview with Amber Hikes, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office for LGBT Affairs in Philadelphia and developer of the flag, in which she explains the importance of the eight stripes, here.

The post LGBTQ+ groups across the US are petitioning for a more inclusive Pride flag appeared first on GAY TIMES.



LGBTQ+ groups across the US are petitioning for a more inclusive Pride flag

Members of the LGBTQ+ community are calling for a Pride flag that further incorporates Black, brown, and transgender voices.

In June, the Castro Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Cultural District (CQCD) in San Francisco voted to replace the Pride flag in Harvey Milk Plaza which dons the original Gilbert Baker design.

The vote was petitioned to Castro Merchants, a non-profit business association that has rights over the flagpoles, according to CNN.

Following the vote, the Merchants will have the penultimate say on whether the flag change will be made.

The CQCD Advisory Board voted in favour (7-2) to have the original Pride flag design changed to the Progress Pride Flag. The traditional rainbow flag was updated, in 2018, by activist Daniel Quasar.

This new variation was designed to better recognise the trans community, queer people of colour and to honour the lives of those who died due to AIDS complications. Quasar, who is queer and non-binary, said their aim was to “shift focus and emphasise to what is important in our current community climate.”

This updated flag includes black, brown, light blue, white and pink stripes alongside the original colours of the Pride flag. These added stripes have been included to recognise Black, Brown and transgender members of the LGBTQ+ community.

The Gilbert Baker Pride Flag was first unveiled at the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day Parade on 25 June 1978, the flag was created by American artist and gay rights activist Gilbert Baker to reflect the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community.

According to Baker, pink represents sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sun, green for nature, turquoise for magic, blue for serenity and purple for spirit. Following his death in 2017, California state senator Scott Wiener said Baker was instrumental in defining “the modern LGBT movement”.

The call for the changing of flags in prominent LGBTQ+ spaces is not a new occurrence. In 2017, Philadelphia unveiled a new version of its Pride flag which is called the More Colour, More Pride Flag. The flag includes both Black and Brown stripes to the traditional rainbow flag.

The Philadelphia-based campaign group More Colour More Pride debuted a brand new eight-stripe flag in 2017 to coincide with Pride Month. You can read our interview with Amber Hikes, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office for LGBT Affairs in Philadelphia and developer of the flag, in which she explains the importance of the eight stripes, here.

The post LGBTQ+ groups across the US are petitioning for a more inclusive Pride flag appeared first on GAY TIMES.





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