Final Week of Pride and Remembering Stonewall

KL Vox

Jun 28, 20213 min read

Let's finish up these last few flags (hopefully you learned something!), then we'll go in to what made our pride celebrations possible.

Non-binary flag :

Created by 17-year-old Kye Rowan in 2014 for gender existing outside the binary (symbolized by the yellow).

White is all genders,

black is no gender,

and purple is a mix of genders.

Individuals and this community use gender neutral pronouns like they and them- as they do not feel like they fit into either gender norms of male or female. Someone who is non-binary might feel like a mix of genders, or like they have no gender at all.

Ally flag:

Meant to show allyship for the LGBTQ+ community.

Allies are SO important for the lgbtq+ community. Standing up for those friends or family members in this community against the tyranny of bigots means more than you’ll ever know.

Some of us are strong and have found our voice of pride, and sense of belonging with family of friends.

Others are still scared, alone, still fearful of persecution and bullying,

Too many are kicked out, and have the backs of their family turned on them.

It is important to speak up when you see unjust against someone in the lgbtq family.

It is important not to stay silent. Your words or allyship could be the saving thing between that person and a suicide note.

Progress flag:

The reworked designed of the Pride flag by Daniel Quasar was introduced to be more inclusive flag. “When the Pride flag was recreated in the last year to include both black/brown stripes as well as the trans stripes included this year, I wanted to see if there could be more emphasis in the design of the flag to give it more meaning”.

The white, pink, and light blue striped chevron design on the Progress Pride Flag reflect the colors of the Transgender Flag,

The brown and black stripes represent marginalized people of color.

The black stripe has a dual meaning: honoring those lost to HIV/AIDS, and the stigma surrounding those still living with HIV.

I love this pride flag. Well done.

It’s a good reminder of how far we have come, and how far we still have to go.

Photo from NPR

It’s been more than 40 years since police officer Dan White assassinated Harvey Milk,

(the first openly gay elected official in the history of California) and the man who initiated the making of the first ever gay pride flag. (The Gilbert Baker flag)

The death of Harvey Milk rang out with power, and instead of retreating back into the shadows as those like Dan White would have liked, our family forged forward and demanded not to be silent.

It’s also been more than 50 years since the riots in Stonewall.

At the time, homosexuality remained illegal in every state except Illinois, and bars and restaurants could get shut down for having gay employees or serving gay patrons.

Most gay bars and clubs in New York at the time (including the Stonewall) were operated by the Mafia, who paid corruptible police officers to look the other way.

At the end of June in 1969, members of the LGBTQ+ community and friends rioted outside New York City gay bar the Stonewall Inn after a raid.

Tired of police harassment due to their sexuality, the bar patrons decided they’d had enough.

The scene became explosive, over the night the crowd of protestors grew to hundreds. Fighting and resisting furiously.

The riots would go on for days, and spark change that would have possibly never happened if it weren’t for those brave few finally fighting back against corrupt injustice.

Matthew Todd, an author, called the riots “an explosion of optimism and energy that sent such a bright flare high above Greenwich Village, it became a beacon for people all over the world”.

Then on June 28, 1970 the First Gay Pride parade set off from Stonewall.

Truly a turning point for our strength and fight to have rights just as everyone else.