The United States Embassy in Manila has put in display the Progress Pride Flag in solidarity with the celebration of Pride Month this June in hopes of raising awareness about the fight for equality of the LGBTQI+ community.
(Photo from the US Embassy in Manila via Facebook)
In a tweet, US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson posted a photo of the flag being raised on one of the buildings of the embassy.
“We at @USEmbassyPH are proud to display the Progress Pride Flag as a symbol of our steadfast support for the LGBTQI+ community. Together, we persist in the fight for equality and acceptance. #PrideMonth #WithPride,” she wrote.
Developed in 2018 by non-binary American artist and designer Daniel Quasar, the Progress Pride Flag was based on the iconic rainbow flag from 1978.
While the rainbow colors represent the LGBTQI+ community, the addition of the five new colors represents the further diversity of the community—black and brown for people of color, and pink, light blue and white to represent trans, gender non-binary, intersex, and those across the gender spectrum.
The US Embassy in Manila likewise posted on Facebook in support of the Pride Month.
“Today and every day, we support the LGBTQI+ community in the fight for justice and acceptance,” it said.
“We stand with the LGBTQI+ community and celebrate diversity, love, and equality #WithPride. Your voices matter, and we are here to support you,” the embassy said in another post with hashtag #PrideMonth.
The embassy also posted a link to US President Joe Biden’s “A Proclamation on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Pride Month, 2023.”
In it, the President expressed his administration’s support for the community in its “enduring struggle for freedom, justice, and equality.”
And while the movement, Biden said, had “grown stronger, more vibrant, and more inclusive with every passing year,” Pride Month is still a reminder “that we still have generational work to do to ensure that everyone enjoys the full promise of equity, dignity, protection, and freedom.”