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History of the Pride Flag

The Original

The first Pride flag was designed by gay activist Gilbert Baker in 1978. The first were produced by the fledgling Gay Parade Committee, where artist Lynn Segerblom and thirty other volunteers hand-dyed and stitched the first two flags for the parade.

7 stripe

Gilbert Baker was first forced to redesign the flag due to a shortage of hot pink flag materials.

7 Stripe

Within a very brief timeframe the turquoise stripe was also removed. This version of the rainbow flag is the most iconic & commonly used flag for the LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Ace) community, though it is sometimes more associated with gay men and lesbians.

Philly Flag

In 2017, the City of Philadelphia’s Office of LGBT Affairs introduced the “More Color, More Pride” flag, their own version of the Pride flag to fly during June (Pride Month). This flag adds two new stripes, brown and black - to the top of the rainbow to represent the Latino and Black communities. This was intended to address a history of racism within the local LGBT community, and the change was the result of the activism of LGBT people of color, especially black LGBT people, in Philadelphia.

Quasar Progress

The Progress Pride Flag was designed in 2018 by nonbinary artist Daniel Quasar to be explicitly inclusive of trans people and LGBTQ+ communities of color. This is the version of the Pride Flag that flies proudly in Morgan Hill every June!

Valentino Progress Flag

Designer Valentino Vecchietti worked with Intersex Equality Rights UK to create a version of the Progress Pride Flag that incorporates the Intersex Flag in June of 2021.

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