Reverend Irene Monroe, a long-time civil rights advocate explained why adding the bars is an essential step toward true equality, stating that, “Those black and brown LGBTQ people are not only absent from the photos of that night, but have been bleached from its written history.” This year, the city of Philadelphia added a black and brown stripe to the flag to show not only solidarity with POC members, but also to show their unique struggles and their extraordinary contributions to the fight for equality. While the queer community has historically prided itself on loving and accepting all of those who identify as such, the reality is that many queer people, primarily queer people of color (POC), are discriminated against by the greater queer community.
The Pride flag is something that is globally known as a unifying symbol for the LGBTQ+ Community.
This blatant white-washing of an issue is exactly the reason why we need the change: So queer POC like myself no longer feel like we are sitting on the outside of a group that is supposed to make us feel safe.
