Celebrating Pride Month With Progress Flags

June is LGBTQIA+ Pride Month! Pride is celebrated in June each year to celebrate the achievements of the LGBTQIA+ community, remember the history, and promote visibility in the predominantly cisgender heterosexual society. Pride is a response to the history of shame and stigmatization of LGBTQIA+ people in society. It is a month where people celebrate who they are and make themselves known. 

To celebrate this, Verity is flying Pride flags in the branches. Traditionally, the six stripe flag is flown to show solidarity with and express pride in the LGBTQIA+ community. You might have noticed that branch flags look a little bit different. This year, branches will be flying what is called The Progress Flag. The Progress Flag was created in 2018 by Daniel Quasar as an update to the flag, intending to highlight trans and POC members of the community. This is part of a drive to be more inclusive and recognize the intersection of identities that exist under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella.

The traditional six stripes each have their own symbolic meanings:

• Red: Life
• Orange: Healing
• Yellow: Sunlight
• Green: Nature
• Blue: Harmony/Peace
• Violet: Spirit

 The colors in the chevron represent:

• Black and Brown: Honoring Queer People of Color
• White, Pink, & Baby Blue: Honoring Transgender, Gender Neutral, Agender, and Gender Non-conforming individuals. 

These colors were added in the form of a right facing chevron, symbolizing the progress we have yet to make and the movement forward in the fight for equity and equality for all LGBTQIA+ people. The need to highlight these groups on the flag comes from years of exclusion and erasure despite the contributions of queer POC and trans people toward the advancement of LGBTQIA+ liberation. The new flag helps center these identities as we move forward in the fight for all members of the LGBTQIA+ community. 

Happy Pride Month!

Contributed by Matt Porter, member consultant at Greenwood's Verity branch