History
There are many pride flags for different parts or segments of the LGBTQ+ community. (You can learn more about some of these flags from the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center at the University of Northern Colorado.) The rainbow flag seen above was created by Gilbert Baker and first flown in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade in 1978.
Learn more: Gilbert Baker's Original Pride Flag
Hot Pink- Sex
Red- Life
Orange- Healing
Yellow- Sunlight
Green- Nature
Turquoise- Magic/Art
Indigo- Serenity
Violet- Spirit
The History and Meaning of the Rainbow Pride Flag
by Curtis M. Wong from the Huffington Post
"Over 40 years, the iconic flag has generated a mythology of its own."
Photograph of young people outside the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969. Photograph by Fred W. McDarrah
In the early morning of June 28, 1969, New York police officers raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Patrons of the Stonewall, other gay & lesbian bars in the neighborhood, and other people in the neighborhood fought back against the police raid. These events are widely considered to be one of the most important events in the 20th century movement for LGBTQ+ liberation in the 20th century.
Want to learn more?
- Check out this article, The Stonewall uprising: 50 years of LGBT history by Irene Lorenzo.
- The popular podcast You're Wrong About has an episode called The Stonewall Uprising devoted to exploring the history of the event and common misconceptions about many people have about it.
- The Fitzgerald Library holds a number of books about Stonewall, including Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution, The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History, and The Stonewall Reader.
