47 years — and some clashes — later, Pride flag seems to be gaining more Island allies

Forty-seven years after the rainbow Pride flag was first raised, Pride P.E.I. says the symbol still holds deep meaning as a sign of progress and a reminder that more work remains for true inclusion.

The first rainbow Pride flag was raised on June 25, 1978, by artist, queer activist and drag queen Gilbert Baker. Along with some friends, Baker hoisted two monumental flags above San Francisco's United Nations Plaza.

Cameron Cassidy, the executive director of Pride P.E.I., said the symbol hasn't always been embraced on Prince Edward Island in the decades since then.

"I think it can feel a little discouraging to community when things like that do happen," Cassidy told CBC's Island Morning.

Nearly a decade ago, for example, the town of Montague rejected a request to fly the Pride flag, and there have been incidents where Pride flags were vandalized.

However, Cassidy sees these challenges as opportunities to spark conversations and remind people that while the flag itself may occasionally be damaged or rejected, it cannot erase the existence of 2SLGBTQ+ people.

"One thing I always like to remind myself and remind everyone that I talk to is that queer people have existed everywhere forever. There has never been a moment in life — or an area of the world — where queer people don't exist."

Despite such setbacks, Cassidy has noticed more and more allied businesses and organizations on the Island displaying the flag now.

"That's so meaningful, allies who are ready to step up and to say, 'I see this happening, and I'm not OK with it.' That just builds more space for people to be authentically themselves."

Cassidy noted that the original Pride flag actually had eight colours, each representing different aspects of the LGBTQ+ community.

Hot pink represented sex, red symbolized life, orange signified healing, yellow stood for sunlight, green represented nature, turquoise was associated with art, indigo symbolized serenity, and violet represented spirit.

Hot pink and turquoise were later dropped from the flag due to manufacturing difficulties, she said.

In 2018, artist Daniel Quasar introduced the Progress Pride flag.

"That's when we saw the addition of the brown and black stripes that are representative of the hard work that the Brown and Black community members and BIPOC community members have put into the movement, and the trans colours as well," Cassidy said.