Croton's first annual Pride Flag raising will be June 1, as Summerfest begins.
The village joins many other communities around the country that raise the multicolored Progress Pride Flag to kick off Pride Month.
Following proposals put forward by Croton’s IDEA Advisory Committee and Croton Pride, the village will raise the Progress Pride Flag over the municipal building on June 1. The 1 pm event will follow directly after the Summerfest Parade, which begins at 12:45 pm that day.
While this will inaugurate the event in Croton, many other cities and communities around the country have been raising the Pride Flag for a number of years now. They include New York City, Albany, Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Hartford CT, and Washington D.C., among many others; Westchester County has also raised the Pride Flag over county property since 2019.
The raising of the flag is intended as a celebration of diversity, but also a reminder of both historic and current discrimination against certain groups in our society. It is also, in the cases of Salt Lake City, Utah and Boise, Idaho, a sign of defiance of their Republican controlled state legislatures, which have banned the traditional rainbow pride flags at schools and government buildings.
The Pride Flag has a long and fascinating history. The original rainbow flag was designed in 1978 by San Francisco activist Gilbert Baker, shortly before the assassination of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in California. The flag subsequently underwent many modifications, with the addition and subtraction of colored stripes over time and as a result of controversies over which groups should be included.
Finally, in 2018, the non-binary artist and designer Daniel Quasar unveiled the Progress Pride Flag on social media. It went viral within a day.
“This new design forces the viewer to reflect on their own feelings towards the original Pride flag and its meaning,” Quasar wrote, “as well as the differing opinions on who that flag really represents, while also bringing into clear focus the current needs within our community.”
We are well aware that some in Croton will not appreciate the Pride Flag, nor its posting at our own local government building. No doubt they will find various ways to express that disapproval, on social media and elsewhere. But we suspect that this first annual flag raising will be followed by many more over the years.
For Further Reading:
History of the Progress Pride Flag
Department of Corrections: In our story earlier today on Leandra’s Law, we gave an incorrect date for the sentencing of Carmen Huertas. It was in October 2010.
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I’m proud to live in a community that accepts each person’s right of free expression and lifestyle.
Congratulations, Croton!