March on Palm Canyon

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The March on Palm Canyon – A Community United for Equality

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With every step forward we take as a community in the progression of equal rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender individuals, we celebrate the advances we have achieved. 

We march in recognition of where we have come.

We march to raise awareness.

We march to inspire the work needed for a better tomorrow.

 

Who

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Pride Celebrations in the Desert, Palm Springs Pride is teaming up with the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism, Desert Gay Tourism Guild, City Officials and Community Leaders to come together in the spirit of pride to raise awareness of equal rights for all individuals.

What

Individuals from all walks of life will carry a large rainbow flag as they March on Palm Canyon Drive.  The rainbow flag was created by Gilbert Baker in San Francisco in 1978 the year Harvey Milk was assassinated.  When it was created the flag represented community pride in the midst of anti-gay activities pervasive at the time.  Today, the rainbow flag is an international, universal symbol of gay pride.  Baker will be on hand for the unfurling of the rainbow flag in Palm Springs.

Unfurling the Rainbow Flag in this year’s parade will raise awareness for equal rights and allow the diverse Coachella Valley to unite and stand arm-in-arm in support of equality.

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Background

Each year since the first pride celebration in the Desert in 1986 up to this year’s 25^th annual pride celebration, lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender individuals have achieved more mainstream visibility than they ever had in the past.

Under the banner of “Justice Today. Equality Tomorrow.” The Greater Palm Springs community will unite and march in celebration of:

• The successful repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy;
• The milestone decision by President Obama and Eric Holder to declare DOMA unconstitutional and not defend it in court;
• An election that resulted in California’s legislature being more than 5 percent openly LGBT — the greatest percentage in any state in history;
• More than 50 percent of California voters now support marriage equality;
• The current challenge of the merits of Proposition 8 under federal law;
• The Palm Springs City Council resolution supporting marriage equality; and
• The passage of the FAIR (Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful) Education Act.

Thankfully, we are beginning to see progress made, but there is still much work to be done.   We see discrimination on a range of topics from employment to marriage and immigration to adoption.

About the Flag

The flag carried in the annual Palm Springs Pride parade on November 6, 2011 is a section of the Key West 25^th Anniversary Rainbow Flag.  Originally a mile-and-a-quarter long,  the longest in the world, was unfurled in Key West, Florida, June 15^th, 2003, during Pride Fest Key West. Spanning the entire length of Key West’s Duval Street, the Rainbow 25 flag extended from sea to sea, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.

Initially flag contained eight colors, not the six that we have become accustomed to. Pink could not be commercially reproduced and turquoise could not be accommodated for commercial reasons. The flag to appear in Palm Springs, and indeed, all sections of the Rainbow 25 flag around the world contain the full eight original colors: pink, red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue and purple.  Each has a special significance: sex, life, healing, sunlight, nature, magic, serenity and spirit.

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