“It was a collective effort of a lot of people in the community, including performers, that decided to make sure our voices get heard.” Icon Ebony-Fierce, a Philadelphia drag and burlesque performer, event manager, and community activist, recalls how communities of color organized. The protests were not the first time that these problems had been raised. “For years, there were conversations about discrimination within the LGBTQ community. Specifically, discrimination in bars, in places of public accommodation, a lack of representation in the leadership of our community,” says Amber Hikes, former executive director of the Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs, and current Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer at the ACLU. “How are we going to signify this time? What is something concrete - a concrete symbol - to mark this progress in our community, and again, these 30-plus years of conversation and advocacy.” The new flag was meant to recognize the legacy of that activism, and anchor inclusion as an essential part of Philly Pride, Hikes said.
