For the first time since 2019, the Wisconsin Historical Society will not fly the pride flag in 2025
The Wisconsin Historical Society will not fly the pride flag at its headquarters in Madison during Pride Month in June 2025, a spokesperson confirmed.
The pride flag has flown over the building each June since at least 2019, spokesperson Colleen Lies told Madison365. "As a nonpartisan agency, the Society does not participate in advocacy outside of that mission. With that in mind, we have chosen not to raise any flags on our agency's flagpoles that can be perceived as an act of advocacy," Lies said in an interview with Madison365.
"While we needed to establish a consistent policy for flag raisings, the Society's mission work of connecting people to history through collecting, preserving and sharing stories of all Wisconsinites from all backgrounds, cultures and perspectives — including LGBTQ+ histories — continues," Lies wrote in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Meanwhile, the organization made a June 1 post on its social media outlining "Wisconsin's extraordinary LGBTQ+ history."
Separately, Gov. Tony Evers raised the Pride Flag over the Wisconsin State Capitol for the seventh year in a row. "You are family here. You belong here. You are welcome home here," Evers wrote in a statement on social media.
In response to the updated flag policy from Wisconsin Historical Society CEO Christian Øverland, who stepped into the role in 2018, a group of more than a dozen WHS employees sent a letter to the Journal Sentinel describing their disappointment in the decision. The employees requested anonymity for fear of retribution from management. The Journal Sentinel independently verified the authenticity of the letter.
"Many of us were disappointed, angry, and fearful when we learned that the Wisconsin Historical Society would not raise the Pride flag outside of our headquarters this June," they wrote in the letter.
"Our CEO has said this move doesn't signal a retreat from supporting the LGBTQ+ community. But many of us are that community. And we are stating this plainly: refusing to fly the Pride flag is, in itself, a step back. It is impossible to separate the symbol from the people it represents.
"We are incredibly proud of the tremendous work that our colleagues have done, and are currently doing, to honor the history of LGBTQ+ Wisconsinites. Our CEO's decision to no longer raise the Pride flag dishonors that work and that history. His actions have eroded trust within the LGBTQ+ community, including partners who help us fulfill our mission of collecting, preserving, and sharing history. Now, it will be up to WHS staff to repair those relationships and the damage this has caused."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Historical Society will not fly the pride flag this year
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