The flag reveal and raising will take place on Thursday on the north apron of City Hall as part of the city’s first annual LGBTQ Pride Month kick-off celebration from 3:30 p.m. Although there have been several variations of the flag in the past that highlighted specific identities within the LGBTQ spectrum, this will be the first time a major institution has ever modified the flag as a way to highlight racial diversity within it. The original six-color rainbow Pride flag was created by Gilbert Baker in 1978 he died in March at age 65. Last month, City Council unanimously passed a bill, prompted by Gayborhood racism concerns, that will give PCHR the power to issue “cease-operations orders” to businesses found to engage in a pattern of discrimination Mayor Jim Kenney later confirmed that he would sign it into law. In February, the Mayor’s Office named Amber Hikes, a black queer woman, as the executive director of the Office of LGBT Affairs and finally announced the members of the new Commission on LGBT Affairs, whose leadership ranks are primarily people of color. In January, the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR) mandated that Gayborhood bars and nonprofits comply with sensitivity trainings after community complaints of racial discrimination emerged last year. The arrival of a more inclusive pride flag is another sign of visible progress over the past six months in the city’s LGBTQ community. “With all of the black and brown activism that’s worked to address racism in the Gayborhood over the past year, I think the new flag is a great step for the city to show the world that they’re working toward fully supporting all members of our community.”Ī spokesperson for the event would not confirm the new design, but in a statement described the flag reveal as “a special, can’t-be-missed unveiling and raising of a brand-new Pride flag which promises to be a step toward inclusivity, to spur dialogue within the community, and to impact the worldwide conversation.” “The black and brown stripes are an inclusionary way to highlight black and brown LGBTQIA members within our community,” said one source involved with the flag-raising event who asked not to be named. The new permanent design will be, from top to bottom: black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Multiple sources closely connected with Thursday’s First Annual Pride Kick-Off at City Hall have confirmed to G Philly that the city’s Pride flag will add black and brown stripes below the traditional six-color rainbow layout.
The flag was my way of saying we as a community need to step back and listen.Image of new Pride flag via its designing company, Tierney. We cannot ignore that and must make space for them to be heard. “Our world is so charged right now and the voices who have been screaming for years are getting louder and louder. “The inclusion of the additional stripes means placing emphasis on voices that need to be heard, especially now even more so than two years ago when I originally made the flag,” Quasar said. In an email to them., Quasar clarified that the Progress Pride Flag “was not meant as a replacement” for Baker’s iconic designs, but was intended “as a supplement to the many flags our community uses to represent us.”
Those were phased out in a 1979 modification following the death of San Francisco assemblyman and LGBTQ+ rights activist Harvey Milk. The first flag unveiled 42 years ago had eight stripes, with hot pink representing sex and turquoise for magic.
The six stripes in the widely popularized rainbow flag of today each represent an idea that resonates with LGBTQ+ people: red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, blue for peace, and purple for spirit.īut Baker’s flag has changed numerous times throughout the years. The Progress Pride Flag and Philadelphia’s Pride banner made waves at the time, with critics claiming that Gilbert Baker’s 1978 design, which has since been included in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection, didn’t need to be updated. “We still have movement forward to make,” Quasar wrote at the time. In a statement posted to the campaign’s Kickstarter page, Quasar said the goal was to emphasize “what is important in our current community climate,” namely the inclusion of Black, Brown, and trans people long marginalized by the mainstream LGBTQ+ movement.