Pasadena Raises Pride Flag Over City Hall

In a commemoration of Pride Month, the City of Pasadena raised a Pride flag above City Hall Monday. The event was hosted by Mayor Victor Gordo and members of the City Council, with more than four dozen community members in attendance. 

“Pasadena has always considered itself a very, very inclusive and fair employer,” said Mayor Victor Gordo, adding, “but Pasadena is much more than that. Pasadena is a city that is full of people who are accepting, and embracing, that are nurturing and that are very much inclusive of people from every walk of life. “

Councilmember John Kennedy —who spearheaded the effort to raise the flag—noted before the flag-raising, that the new flag is an 11-stripe, “fully inclusive” Pride flag. 

“Of particular note,” said Kennedy, “is that the flag we raise today has a black and brown stripe to represent African-American and LatinX communities”

The event was also attended by Camila Camaléon, the first transgender president of the San Gabriel Valley LGBTQ+ Center. 

“The modern-day LBGTQ+ movement continues right in our own neighborhood. Let it be known that LGBTQ+ folks have made, and continue to make positive and long-lasting contributions to society by advancing areas of inclusion, diversity, equity and respect,” Camaléon said.

June marks the celebration of Pride Month. This year, many celebrations across the globe will resume as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and more people are vaccinated.

Pride Month began on June 28, 1969, when police raided a gay club called the Stonewall Inn in New York’s Greenwich Village. Within six months of the event, two gay activist organizations were formed in New York, and three newspapers were established to promote rights for gay men and lesbians.

One year later, the first gay pride marches took place in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.

On June 24, 2016, President Barack Obama officially designated the Stonewall National Monument, making it the nation’s first national monument designated as an LGBT+ historic site.