It was very colorful this week at AltaOne celebrating Pride. "Life Gets Better Together" was our theme. We shared the history of Pride, the meaning of the Pride flag, resources, and personal stories. We also highlighted community leaders and events that embrace the diversity of our communities.

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The history of the LGBT movement can be traced to the Stonewall Inn in New York’s Greenwich Village. Stonewall marked the first time that gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people as a group forcefully and vocally asserted their rights to equality under the law. Historically, the LGBT community was subjected to civil laws that, in New York City, allowed bars to refuse service to LGBT patrons. Arrests, harassment, and instances of entrapment by police were frequent. Civil laws reinforced their actions. Establishments often cited Section 106, Subsection 6 of the New York State Penal Code to refuse service to LGBT patrons. The code barred premises from becoming "disorderly houses." Many, including the courts, considered LGBT patrons to be disorderly. LGBT patrons were often entrapped by plain clothes police officers, posing as regular bar patrons. Transgender people were openly arrested on the streets. One establishment where LGBT patrons found refuge was the Stonewall Inn.

When police raided the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969, the street erupted into violent protests. There were reports of stilettos, bottles, coins, bricks, and debris thrown. The altercation spilled into the streets and more LGBT street youth joined in the uprising. As word spread, more LGBT people from surrounding neighborhoods joined the riot. The rebellion, which lasted six days, marked the beginning of the modern LGBT rights movement.

The Stonewall riots, as they came to be known, marked a major turning point in the modern LGBT civil rights movement in the United States and around the world. The event was significant from the day it occurred - creating changes in LGBT people's lives immediately. On the one-week anniversary, there was a gay march. On the first-year anniversary, the first gay pride march was held in New York City, as well as in other cities. The events of Stonewall opened the door for millions of LGBT Americans to begin pressing for full and equal civil rights. Indeed, within a few short years of Stonewall, thousands of gay and lesbian civil rights organizations had sprung up across America.     

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The history of the rainbow flag is a rich, fascinating, and very recent one!

 

Artist and activist Gilbert Baker is credited with creating the first pride flag, meant to represent the gay community. He was approached by Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person elected to public office in California, in 1977 to create a symbol of pride for the community. “Flags are about proclaiming power” Baker said.

 

Baker was inspired by the United States flag, with its series of stacked lines, and also by Pop Art of the time. Several communities at the time had reclaimed the Pink Triangle as a symbol of queer power. The Pink Triangle was used in Nazis concentration camps to identify men imprisoned for their homosexuality. Despite the Pink Triangle’s prevalence, Baker argued that there was a need for a new symbol “We needed something beautiful. Something from us.”

 

The flag was first flown in San Francisco’s United Nation’s Plaza in June of 1978. Some historians have argued that the idea of the rainbow flag came about because of the rainbow’s link to actress Judy Garland. A strong supporter of the gay community, gay men were occasionally called “friends of Dorothy”, in reference to her role in The Wizard of Oz. Baker stated, however, that the idea of a rainbow pride flag did not stem from Garland’s singing of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.

 

According to Baker, “It’s a natural flag. It comes from the sky”.

 

The meaning of each color is as follows:

Red: Vitality

Orange: Healing

Yellow: Sunlight

Green: Nature

Indigo: Harmony

Violet: Spirit

Being a part of the LGBTQ+ community has numerous positive impacts on the mental health, emotional wellbeing, and quality of life for LGBTQ+ people and their families. 

Bakersfield

902 18th St, Bakersfield CA 93301

(661) 843-7995

 

841 Mohawk St, Ste 260, Bakersfield CA 93309

(661) 404-5209

 

Organizes the annual Bakersfield Pride Festival each October

PO Box 78056, Bakersfield  CA 93383

(661) 302-4266

 

PFLAG (formerly Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays)

5 Real Rd, Bakersfield CA 93309

(661) 527-3524

 

1201 24th St, Ste B110 PMB 201, Bakersfield CA 93301

(661) 927-7821

 

910 Grace St, Bakersfield CA 93305

(661)742-3611

 

(760) 384-6181

 

(760) 878-8543

 

 

(866) 488-7386

Texting: Text START to 678678

 

Kern Behavioral Health & Recovery Services

Crisis Hotline: (800) 991-5272

Suicide Prevention Hotline:

(800) 273-8255

 

Inyo County Behavioral Health Division

(800) 841-5011 or 911

 

 

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Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Carl Nassib: “Studies have shown that all it takes is one accepting adult to decrease the risk of an LGBTQ kid attempting suicide by 40%. Whether you’re a friend, a parent, a coach or a teammate-you can be that person”

 

Harvey Milk: “It takes no compromise to give people their rights… it takes no money to respect the individual.  It takes no political deal to give people freedom.  It takes no survey to remove repression.”

 

Rachel Maddow: “The single best thing about coming out of the closet is that nobody can insult you by telling you what you’ve already told them.”

 

Chris Colfer: “There’s nothing wrong with you.  There’s a lot wrong with the world you live in.”

 

Laverne Cox: “We are not what other people say we are.  We are who we know ourselves to be, and we are what we love. That’s okay.”

 

Harry Winston: “People will stare.  Make it worth their while.”

 

Dolly Parton: “I am not gay, but if I were, I would be the first one running out of the closet.”

 

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Photographer Alejandro Ibarra created ‘Coming Out Stories’, a portrait series in 2017.  Each subject was asked to write their story on their photo.  Some are comical, “I put a Lady Gaga playlist on in the background for encouragement.”  Others are emotional, “The first person I told was my closest friend and she walked away.”
 

Read about the series and see the portraits here. 

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Our team wrapped up Pride Week by dressing up in Rainbows, sharing personal stories about coming out, what Pride means to us and ally awareness.