About 40 people showed up, 33 men and seven women. The goal was that in Philadelphia, July 4 is associated with freedom, but there would be a lot of tourists, so more people would see that gay people don’t look like the screaming, loud queen or butch lesbian stereotypes.
That’s why the demonstrations or protests were called the Annual Reminders because they wanted to remind everyone of our country’s promise of equal rights and the pursuit of happiness. Two key organizations, Daughters of Bilitis and the Mattachine Society, wanted to do something, and they decided to take action in Philadelphia specifically because they wanted to advocate for equal rights in front of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. By the time we get to the 1960s, more people did not want to accept what was happening, and the Homophile Movement (organizations working together to demand equality and respect, regardless of a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation) wanted to gain traction. If more than one person would be seen together at say, a bar, it would be seen as a gay establishment and be shut down and the patrons would be arrested. Gay people were seen as dangerous, and they weren’t allowed to gather in public. In 1953, President Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10450, which made it illegal for gay people to work for the government, and other states had explicit anti-gay laws, too. So, the tail end of the Red Scare became knowns as the Lavender Scare, and hundreds of people were fired from their jobs. The thinking was that gay people were more susceptible to manipulation from other countries because of their sexuality. He played into the idea of the fear and paranoia around Communism and eventually turned his attention to gay people, specifically gay people who were working with the federal government. In order to get the real genesis of the Annual Reminders, you’d have to go back to Sen. Windhauser: Those demonstrations are more commonly known as the Annual Reminders. TN: There’s a historical marker at 6th and Chestnut streets commemorating gay rights demonstrations on July 4, 1965–1969. Temple Now talked with Associate Professor of English and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Studies Brad Windhauser to dig deeper into LGBTQIA+ history in Philadelphia and why the idea of Pride is thought to have started here. It’s been a symbol of pride and unity for the LGBTQIA+ community since 1978 (it’s a little different in Philadelphia as of last year-more on that later) and the flag is raised at City Hall every June to celebrate Pride Month. Hikes says the extra stripes are “simple, but remarkable.If you’ve visited City Hall, or just passed by it in the last couple weeks, maybe you noticed a colorful neighbor to our nation’s flag-the rainbow flag. When I see the flag, I feel like I see myself.” “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.”Īmber Hikes, the city’s director of LGBT Affairs, told the Philadelphia Gay News, “Seeing an image like this flag instills so much pride in me as a queer black woman. “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. G Philly’s Ernest Owens reported on the new flag before the city officially made its announcement. Tierney, a Philadelphia-based advertising agency, approached the Office of LGBT Affairs with the new design.
But together we can make big strides toward a truly inclusive community. To fuel this important conversation, we’ve expanded the colors of the flag to include black and brown. Especially when it comes to recognizing people of color in the LGBTQ+ community. A lot of good, but there’s more we can do. In 1978, artist Gilbert Baker designed the original rainbow flag. The website for the “More Color More Pride” campaign reads: The city has a launched a new campaign, “More Color More Pride,” adding one black and one brown stripe to the traditional six colored rainbow. The new design will be, from top to bottom: black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Philadelphia is redefining the LGBT pride flag as we know it.