10 Things You Didn't Know About Pride

From: Pride

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Every color of the rainbow flag means something.

Have you ever wondered what the rainbow gay pride flag flown at Pride parades means? The original flag few at the Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco in 1978, and was designed by Gilbert Baker. Thirty volunteers hand-dyed and stitched the first two flags for the parade.

Baker assigned different meanings to each color. Hot pink represents sexuality. Red represents life. Orange represents healing. Yellow represents sunlight. Green represents nature. Turquoise represents magic and art. Indigo represents serenity and harmony. Violet represents spirit. Stripes were eventually dropped from the design for mass production, resulting in the six-stripe flag that’s popular today. 

10 Things You Didn't Know About Pride

From: Pride

2) 

The "Mother of Pride" was a bisexual woman.

Brenda Howard, a bisexual woman and lifelong militant activist, was known as the "Mother of Pride" for her work in organizing the Christopher Street Liberation Day March. Howard was also credited with laying the foundation for the week long celebrations of Pride leading up the modern day Pride parades. She also cofounded the New York Bisexual Network in 1988.

10 Things You Didn't Know About Pride

From: Pride

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 The event that inspired the Pride parades we know now was a march to commemorate the Stonewall Riots.

In 1970, a year after the Stonewall Inn rebellion thousands of LGBT New Yorkers gathered for the Christopher Street Liberation Day (CSLD) March along Sixth Avenue from Greenwich Village to Central Park, chanting, “Say it clear, say it loud! Gay is good, gay is proud!” The success of the CSLD March inspired local organizers across the United States and around the globe to start their own LGBT marches.

At the 1973 CSLD march, transgender activist Sylvia Rivera called out transphobia in an epic speech, proving that transgender people have been part of our community's activism forever.

In an essay for The Village Voice, Fred Sargeant recounted his experience at the CSLD March: "This was long before anyone had heard of a “Gay Pride March.” Back then, it took a new sense of audacity and courage to take that giant step into the streets of Midtown Manhattan. […] There were no floats, no music, no boys in briefs. The cops turned their backs on us to convey their disdain, but the masses of people kept carrying signs and banners, chanting and waving to surprised onlookers."

10 Things You Didn't Know About Pride

From: Pride

There’s so much more to Pride than a parade.

The Pride parades and week of events leading up to them that we know today have a rich and often untold history. From the creation and meaning of the rainbow flag, to the modern day acknowledgement of LGBT Pride Month from political leaders, with 10 awesome facts about Pride that may have flown under your radar.