I’m sure by now you’ve heard the rumblings of the brand spanking new color-inclusive iconic Pride Flag, right?
Last week, in recognition of LGBTQ people of color, Philadelphia unveiled its new Pride Flag, which added black and brown stripes to the rainbow. The original flag design was created in 1978, by artist Gilbert Baker.
Initial thoughts on social media were mixed: some mad, some glad and some with questions:
Gays™: Why did Philly add Black and Brown to the Pride Flag!?
Me: Cause y'all whitewash our history & contributions!
Gays™: Prove it!
Me: pic.twitter.com/1weycO3RBX— Zesty Ice Kareem???? (@TheChocoOtter) June 14, 2017
I thought the rainbow flag was supposed to represent all LGBT people regardless of skin color. ??— Kathy B (@katsstuff_kathy) June 13, 2017
White LGBTQ ppl being mad abt Philly adding black & brown stripes to pride flag are reifying the problem the stripes are trying to address.— Lena Tenney (@Lena10E) June 10, 2017
The flag, which is currently flying at Philadelphia’s City Hall for the month of June, is part of the city’s inclusivity-missioned More Color More Pride campaign, per Curbed Philadelphia.
This year, Philly has been striving to make sure that people of color and transgender/gender non-conforming identifying people are not left out of the mainstream LGBTQ narrative.
“We’re proud to host this celebration for the community to come together not just for Pride, but also to reinforce our strides towards combatting discrimination within our community, honor the lives of our black and brown LGBTQ siblings, and uplift our shared commitment to diversity and inclusion within our community,” said Office of LGBT Affairs director Amber Hikes.
