Latest news with #ProgressPride
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Toronto officials raise Progress Pride flag at city hall to kick off month of festivities
Toronto officials raised the Progress Pride flag at city hall on Monday to kick off a month of festivities celebrating the city's 2SLGBTQ+ community. Mayor Olivia Chow said it's more important than ever to support Toronto's 2SLGBTQ+ community. Chow was joined by Coun. Chris Moise, chair of the Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Advisory Committee, and city staff. "It's not a choice. It is who we are. It's in the city's DNA that we will always support the LGBTQ community," Chow said in an interview after the flag-raising. "We know that when we come together, we're stronger. We will not be divided and we'll stand shoulder to shoulder with the community and supporting it every way. I invite all Torontonians to enjoy Pride Month." Those involved, including drag performer Sanjina DaBish Queen, said Pride started as a protest and it's important to support the transgender community. "The light just needs to be on trans people right now. It does. We're very important to the community. We're important to this world. And we just want to live. We just want to breathe." Pride Toronto recently reported two of its largest sponsors, Home Depot and Google, have said they no longer want to sponsor the festival, but executive director Kojo Modeste said the withdrawal of support won't affect this year's festivities. "We already have contracts that we are obligated to. Where we might feel it, it's next year. But I do believe that all three levels of government will come on board. We're going to have more sponsors." City representatives said they'll continue to support Pride in Toronto in whatever ways they can. "At the end of the day, it's their loss," Chow said. "And if American companies want to pull out from supporting Pride, we will step in, Canadian companies will step in, the government will step in." Throughout the month of June, Pride events will be held across Toronto. Pride culminates with the festival weekend that runs June 27 to 29. That includes Toronto's Pride Parade, which is the second largest in the world.
CBS News
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Philadelphia's 2025 Pride weekend will feature 600-foot Progress Pride flag, largest in U.S., organizers say
The largest Progress Pride flag in the U.S. will return and be even larger in 2025 as Philadelphia's LGBTQ+ community and allies gather for the Philadelphia Pride March and Festival. Organizers with Philly Pride 365 have already announced a ton of plans for the kickoff weekend starting Friday, May 30, but more announcements are coming in the next one to two weeks, including performers, stage locations and food truck and vendor lists. The group says this year's Pride Month is extra special in Philadelphia — it marks 50 years since former Pennsylvania Gov. Milton Shapp signed an executive order making the Keystone State the first to prohibit discrimination toward LGBTQ+ state employees. The order was later expanded to include state contractors as well. Advocates have called for the Pennsylvania Senate to pass the Fairness Act, a bill that ensures equal protections for LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians. Philly Pride 365 When is the 2025 Philadelphia Pride Parade? Pride Weekend in Philadelphia features several events leading up to the June 1 Pride March, not a parade. Things kick off with the Pride Around the City event on Friday, May 30. During this event, the massive Progress Pride flag will make its way to several major landmarks around the city. The flag will be 600 feet long this year, longer than an average Center City block. Last year's 400-foot Pride flag stretched down all the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, so it'll be interesting to see how Pride Around the City handles the extra 200 feet of fabric! The Philadelphia Pride Flag seen on Independence Mall in 2023. Philly Pride 365 The 600-foot flag will be the largest pride flag in Philly history and may set a record for the biggest pride flag in Pennsylvania. It was designed for the 2025 Philly Pride March and made in the state. Saturday, the day after Pride Around the City, features the LUV (Legacy, Unity, Visibility Awards) and the Pride Promenade held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Sunday's Pride March will kick off from 6th and Walnut streets at 10:30 a.m. and end in the Gayborhood. Philly Pride 365 says the exact route is still being finalized and will be revealed closer to the date of the march. The events this year have a new fiscal sponsor, the Urban Affairs Coalition. Philadelphia Pride Festival is larger this year Following the march, the Philadelphia Pride Festival is happening from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. The festival area will extend from Walnut Street down to Pine and from Juniper Street east to Quince Street. The festival will feature entertainment zones with stages, a youth and family zone with drag story time, a "sober vibes zone" that's alcohol-free, a sensory-friendly zone and the Sapphic Way. There's no admission or registration required to attend the festival, and food and drink are pay-as-you-go. Watch out for road closure announcements closer to the event. What is the Progress Pride Flag and how is it different from the traditional rainbow flag? The most common rainbow Pride flag has six stripes: red, orange, yellow, green, royal blue and purple. The late activist Gilbert Baker is widely credited for creating this flag in 1978, originally with eight stripes. The redesign and cut to six stripes happened in part due to a shortage of commercially available pink fabric and a desire to keep the number of stripes even. According to the Human Rights Campaign, the Progress Pride Flag features all the colors of the traditional flag with additional white, pink and light blue stripes to represent the transgender community, and black and brown stripes to represent LGBTQ+ people of color. The black stripe is also a memorial to the thousands of people who died during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, HRC says.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Blue cities adopt Pride flags as official symbols in bid to skirt red-state laws
Two Democrat-run cities in the Rockies are skirting state laws dictating which flags can be flown on government property, according to The Associated Press – and are granting particular attention to the LGBTQ Pride flag. Utah and Idaho both have laws on the books barring government buildings from flying most flags, save for a select few – like the American flag and military flags. Utah's law went into effect Wednesday. Utah Bans Lgbtq+ Pride Flags, Maga Flags, Other Unapproved Flags In Government Buildings, Schools In an eleventh-hour bid to circumvent the coming restrictions, Salt Lake City adopted four flags Tuesday: its existing flag, as well as modified versions of the Progress Pride, Transgender Pride and Juneteenth flags – each including the city's signature sego lily. They were presented by Mayor Erin Mendenhall for adoption via ordinance, explained her spokesperson, Andrew Wittenberg, to Fox News Digital. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall has insisted that her "sincere intent" in adopting her city's new flags "is not to provoke or cause division," according to the AP. "My sincere intent is not to provoke or cause division," Mendenhall said, according to The AP. Read On The Fox News App "My intent is to represent our city's values and honor our dear diverse residents who make up this beautiful city and the legacy of pain and progress that they have endured," she continued. Violators of the Utah law, which Republican Gov. Spencer Cox, allowed to pass without his signature, can be fined $500 per day. The law's supporters maintain that it's a matter of institutions maintaining political neutrality. State Department Blocks Pride, Blm Flags From Embassies, Outposts With 'One Flag Policy' "This law is about keeping government spaces neutral and welcoming to all," Republican House Speaker Mike Schultz said. "Salt Lake City should focus on real issues, not political theatrics." Meanwhile, in Boise, Idaho, Mayor Lauren McLean issued a proclamation last week retroactively designating the pride flag as an official city flag. Boise Mayor Lauren McLean has said she believes the Idaho law restricting flag displays at government buildings is unenforceable. McLean has maintained that the Idaho law is not sound – and has even flown the pride flag over City Hall after it was enacted. McLean has yet to respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. McLean and Mendenhall spoke Monday night to discuss their cities' respective plans, though Wittenberg stressed to Fox News Digital that there was "no prior or additional coordination" between the cities' officials. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: Blue cities adopt Pride flags as official symbols in bid to skirt red-state laws
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Salt Lake City adopts 3 new flags to bypass new state flag law
Leaders of Utah's capital city voted to add three new city flags, all incorporating designs not allowed through a new state flag law, to sidestep the measure hours before it goes into law. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall unveiled three new city flag designs to members of the Salt Lake City Council Tuesday evening, as she explained how the city plans to move forward in the wake of HB77 on the eve of the bill becoming law. The new flags would add the sego lily logo from Salt Lake City's city flag to the Juneteenth, Progress Pride and transgender flags. All three flags were not included in the list of flags approved to be flown outside of government or in schools. The new flags would not replace the city's primary flag, which was adopted in 2020. 'These city flags represent the ideas and principles Salt Lakers know as core tenets — belonging and acceptance, or better stated: Diversity. Equity. Inclusion,' she said, sitting next to all four flags in a Salt Lake City Council work session chamber. 'I have given this so much thought, and I do not do this lightly. My sincere intent is not to provoke or cause division; my intent is to represent our city's values and honor our dear, diverse residents who make up this beautiful city,' she added. 'Let the sego lily represent the beauty and resilience of everyone who lives here, no matter their race, ethnicity, gender, faith, income or sexual orientation.' Salt Lake City Council members voted Tuesday night to approve the last-second measure. All seven members shared turns explaining their vote after lining up to take a photo in front of the next flags earlier in the day. 'Today is an act of love ... for every member of our community,' said Councilwoman Sarah Young before the vote. HB77, which goes into law on Wednesday, lists which flags can be flown at schools and government buildings. U.S., Utah, county, municipal, tribal, military and Olympic flags are among the approved flags, while flags representing the LGBTQ communities and the Juneteenth flag — used to celebrate the holiday where the last slaves were freed after the Civil War — were not included. Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, the bill's sponsor, said the measure is about maintaining political neutrality in public spaces. Those opposed, including Salt Lake City, argued that it targeted certain minority groups and might violate government free speech. The city has flown Juneteenth, Progress Pride and transgender flags outside of City Hall during specific days or months for years. HB77 became 'one of the most divisive bills' from the 2025 legislative session, as Gov. Spencer Cox put it. The governor ultimately declined to sign the bill but also allowed the bill to go into law, explaining in a letter that it passed with a veto-proof majority. 'I continue to have serious concerns with this bill. However, because a veto would be overridden, I have decided to allow the bill to go into law without my signature and urge lawmakers to consider common-sense solutions that address the bill's numerous flaws,' he wrote. Salt Lake City leaders raised a Pride Progress flag and lit the top of the Salt Lake City-County Building in rainbow colors on the final day of the legislative session. The flag was still flying as of Tuesday, ahead of the new law. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall stands next to Salt Lake City's four new flags as she addresses reporters inside the Salt Lake City-County Building on Tuesday. | Carter Williams, Behind the scenes, city leaders were reviewing the bill to piece together their next steps. Conversations began days after the session ended, Salt Lake City Council Chairman Chris Wharton said. City officials came up with the idea to place the sego lily — a symbol of the primary city flag — on all three flags it once flew at some point in those discussions, turning them into city flags. 'We simply looked at HB77 and discovered there is, indeed, a way for cities to approve additional official flags,' Mendenhall said, noting there's nothing in statute barring a city from having more than one flag and that the state has four official flags. It's unclear what will happen next, but Lee caught wind of the city's move Tuesday evening. 'Does Salt Lake City really want to play these games? Good luck!' he posted on X. Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, the bill's floor sponsor, posted a photo of a flag with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with a sego lily on X, along with the message: 'Excited that (the mayor) and (City Council) will also be flying this new SLC flag so that all historic constituents will be 'seen.'' Only two people spoke on the measure during the City Council Tuesday night, both speaking in support of the city. Mendenhall said she knows 'retribution' is possible, but she said the city wanted to 'stand up for our values.' She contends the measure helps the city stay in compliance with the law while still raising the flags it once did. Wharton agrees. 'These are the flags that have flown above City Hall and Washington Square for years and years, and we're just trying to find a way to make that continue,' he said. 'We're not trying to do anything particularly new or exciting.'
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Salt Lake City could adopt Pride, Juneteenth themed city flags ahead of state flag ban
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A day before Utah's new ban on certain flags at schools and government buildings, including pride flags, Salt Lake City's Council presented three new potential city flags, representing LGBTQIA+ communities and the Juneteenth holiday. The flags, presumably, don't violate Utah's new law prohibiting political flags because they're set to be adopted as official city flags. Bill banning pride flags from schools passes Utah Legislature Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall presented the ordinance and designs to the council in a work session on Tuesday. The new flags feature the city's traditional Sego Lily on variations of the Juneteenth flag, the Progress Pride flag, and the transgender pride flag. She said when the law passed, the council looked at it closely to understand how they could abide by it, while still representing Salt Lakers and their values. 'As mayor, I have a duty to lawfully uphold the values of our nation, state, and our city. I know that the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion are not only right and just, but they are fundamental to America, even through all its struggles to uphold them,' she said. 'I am not interested in any debate about the rightness of these values; they are American, they are ours, and they are right. How they are implemented is the only matter in question.' Mendenhall said that these flags have been flown over Washington Square throughout the years she's served as mayor, adding it's a sight she's proud of. 'They represent our American values, sewn in color and cloth. In lieu of this defining legislation, I have determined that when it comes to representing our city's values, I know we can do more than fly a single flag. Three more, to be precise,' she said. The council is set to vote on them at their formal council meeting. H.B. 77 'Flag Display Amendments' passed the Utah Legislature in March, in effect, creating a ban on pride, Juneteenth, and other political flags in schools and government properties. It is set to take effect on May 7. The law doesn't ban the pride flag specifically, rather, it lists approved flags that can be flown, including: U.S. flag Utah state flag Flags of other countries, states, or cities Flags for colleges and universities Military flags Flags of Native American tribes National League of Families POW/MIA flag Olympic flags Public school flags Historic versions of flags, like the U.S. and Utah, would also be allowed, and flags displayed as part of the curriculum or for educational purposes are also allowed. It's not the first response Salt Lake City has had to the pride flag ban. The day after the legislature passed the law, the city lit up its building in rainbow colors. The flag bill's sponsor, Rep. Trevor Lee, (R – Layton), has threatened anyone who tries to subvert the law. In early April, he posted on X a response to a video purported to be a Utah teacher sharing pride symbols. 'While my bill just covers the flags. HB281 will cover all these other symbols or anything purposely trying to subvert the law. Classrooms and taxpayer entities should always be politically neutral,' he wrote. called Lee for a statement following the announcement, to which he said, 'It's not going to go well for them, nice try.' Sen. Dan McCay (R-Riverton) also responded to the announcement on X with an edited photo flag representing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, writing, 'Excited that @slcmayor and @slcCouncil will also be flying this new SLC flag so that all historic constituents will be 'seen.' Sen. Dan McCay's post on X. Mendenhall told ABC4 that these flags are meant to include and not divide, and that retribution is always possible. 'These flags are about inclusion, acceptance, and unity. That is what they are about. Those are the values of this city, and I believe they are the values of this nation,' she said. Latest headlines: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
