Lena Waithe’s choice to wear the Philadelphia Pride Flag as a cape at the 2018 Met Gala is the perfect example of this type of inclusion. The addition of black and brown stripes to the traditional pride flag symbolized people of color who are often not represented in the queer community.
The flag launched in 2017 as part of the “More Color More Pride” Campaign in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Pride Flag came about in response to the demand for more inclusivity across the LGBTQ+ community. The turquoise color was also taken off the flag to keep an even number of colors. Hot pink wasn’t included in the fabrication of these flags, because the fabric was hard to find as the demand for the flag started to rise. This flag includes the colors red, orange, yellow, green, indigo, and violet on it. One of the most well known and used of the LGBT flags throughout history has been the 1979, six-color flag. Violet represents the spirit of LGBTQ people.Each color in the flag also had a specific meaning. Inspired by the classic song “Over the Rainbow” from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, Baker created a rainbow flag to represent LGBTQ folks. Tasked by Harvey Milk, a historic figure in the fight for LGBTQ rights, to create a flag for the queer community, Baker created a rainbow flag with eight different colors. The history of the original pride flag should be in textbooks and taught in school.
