06/13/2023
PRIDE is an acronym for Professionalism, Respect, Integrity, Diversity, and Excellence. These values are something that everyone should strive for; no matter who you are, who you love, what you look like, or how you identify.
However, PRIDE was also an acronym for the "Personal Rights in Defense and Education" organization formed in 1966. This radical group led unapologetic demonstrations against the oppression of the LGBTQIA community in Los Angeles, CA. It might be easy to forget that the entire q***r community was considered criminal, and had to actively FIGHT for their rights within our recent history.
In this Pride window installation, we wanted to incorporate some of that history into our design. There is a depiction of a musical staff across the windows including the first two bars of the chorus for "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". The Wizard of Oz, and Judy Garland, were beloved by the LGBT community. So much so that "Judy" was adopted by the community as one of the many code words used to identify other q***r people in a time where it was not safe to do so openly.
Unsurprisingly, the song "Somewhere Over the Raindow" was also the inspiration for the first Pride flag design by Gilbert Baker. The couple on the left side of the windows can be found holding a flag with the colors from that original design. This flag had 8 colors with unique representations:
💗- S*x
❤️- Life
🧡- Healing
💛- Sunlight
💚- Nature
🩵- Art
💙- Serenity
💜- Spirit
Pride Month is so important to the q***r community because it is a reminder of how far we have come. It's to honor those that fought for the rights and protections that we have now, and to continue encouraging us to stand together. The world is in an uncertain place today, and it's up to us to advocate for Liberty and Justice FOR ALL!!!! 🌈🇺🇲
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