10 Things You Didn't Know About Pride

By Vivian El-Salawy on June 26, 2017

Pride month is coming to a close, so here are 10 things you didn’t know about pride:

1. The original Pride flag had two additional colors.

The flag originally created had eight colors: red, orange, yellow, green blue, purple, pink, and turquoise. It was developed in the early 1970’s in San Fransisco by Gilbert Baker. According to Mic, the pink color resembled “sex” and the turquoise color resembled “the arts”. The two additional colors were cut out from production because it was cheaper to produce more flags without pink and turquoise. This became the standard, so later flags only included the initial six colors.

Image via Huffington Post

2. Only two U.S presidents have acknowledged Pride month.

According to Mic, the first president to issue a Pride month proclamation was Bill Clinton. In 1998, President Clinton issued Proclamation No. 7316 for Pride Month which reads:

“This June, recognizing the joys and sorrows that the gay and lesbian movement has witnessed and the work that remains to be done, we observe Gay and Lesbian Pride Month and celebrate the progress we have made in creating a society more inclusive and accepting of gays and lesbians.”

In 2016, President Obama released a presidential proclamation for LGBT Pride month, which can be read here:

3. Pride commemorates the Stonewall Inn riots. 

Image via Wikipedia

On June 28th, 1969, police had raided StoneWall Inn, a gay bar in New York. This was not uncommon, as in 1969, it was illegal for LGBT people to meet in public places, and so bars or clubs were often raided by law enforcement. In 1969, homosexuality was classified as a mental disorder by the American Psychological Association.

However, on June 28th, 1969 also marked an important beginning. Three days of riots and protests ensued that have influenced and inspired the modern-day Pride parade.

4. The Pentagon held their first Pride in 2012.

According to the Huffington Post, in June 2012, the Pentagon held their first Pride event, which included a discussion panel titled “The Value of Open Service and Diversity”. This wasn’t so much a parade with celebration as it was an informative discussion, but it was a discussion that was important to have and still went down in history as the first pride event held at the Pentagon. Keep in mind that this was nearly two years since “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” was repealed in 2010.

5. The largest flag in the world, for a period of time, was the Rainbow Flag.

Image via Andy Newman

NY Daily News reports that the largest flag in the world was used in New York City in 1994 (well, for its time). In 1994, flag creator Gilbert Baker commissioned to make a mile-long Rainbow Flag. It measured thirty feed wide by a mile long, and thousands of marchers and volunteers gathered on First Avenue to make it happen. It was recorded to be one of the largest flags in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records, and after the parade, pieces of it were cut up to be taken home by sponsors, activists, volunteers, and so on. An even longer Rainbow Flag was later displayed in a Pride celebration in Key West, Florida, ranging 1.25 miles long.

6. The only Pride celebration on the African continent is in South Africa.

Image via Daily Maverick

The Huffington Post reports that South Africa is home to the only Pride celebration on the African continent. However, these parades have been ongoing since 1990. These events are typically held in Johannesburg or Cape Town. Shaun De Waal and Anthony Manion outline the history of South African pride marches in their book Pride: Protest and Celebration. Pride touches on the fact that African pride parades have been used for “political advocacy protesting against legal discrimination against LGBT people” and for celebration of equality before law.

7.  The “Flag of the Races” inspired Baker’s Rainbow Flag.

According to the Carleton Sexuality and Gender Center, the initial inspiration for the Rainbow Flag came from the five-striped “Flag of the Races”, which is red, black, brown, yellow, and white. This same flag was used as the flag used as the World Peace Association Brotherhood Flag.

8. The “Mother of Pride” is bisexual rights activist Brenda Howard.

Image via Columbia University

The first Pride parade, according to Advocate.com, was the Christopher Street Liberation Day March, organized by bisexual woman Brenda Howard. It covered fifty-one blocks to Central Park. A year later, she coordinated an anniversary for the march, essentially kicking off the tradition of Pride parades. LGBT History Month states that the Brenda Howard Award was created in her memory and is annually presented to a group or individual advocating on behalf of the bisexual community.

9. D.C. Black Pride is the first official black gay pride event in the United States.

Image via Center for Black Equity

D.C. Black Pride is a program of the Center for Black Equity (CBE), whose goal is to improve the lives of black LGBT people globally. They organize and promote a multinational network of Black Prides. Advocate.com states:

“Black LGBT Pride celebrations started as a way to reconcile these two identities, providing a safe space for queer people of color to build community and find a sense of self.”

10. The largest LGBT event was held in São Paulo, Brazil.

Image via Joe My God

In 2006, São Paulo held the largest Pride event in the world – a parade with somewhere between 2.5 million and 3 million attending, according to the Guiness Book of World Records. The event is strongly supported by the State and the City of São Paulo government authorities, however it comes with a solid security plan, according to Estadão.

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