(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A 25-foot historic pride flag will be displayed on the exterior of Colorado Springs City Hall, beginning with a ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 23.
The city said the flag, known as Section 93 of the Sea to Sea Flag, is on loan to Colorado Springs from the Sacred Cloth Project as a gesture of love, solidarity and healing in the wake of the Club Q shooting, in which five people were killed and 18 were injured.
“We are honored to share this symbol of hope, love and unity with the people of Colorado Springs in their time of sorrow,” said Mark Ebenhoch, Sacred Cloth Project director.
The flag, measuring 14 by 25 feet, is one section of the historic Rainbow25 flag sewn together by Gilbert Baker in Key West, Fla., in 2003 to create a 1.25 mile long flag in the original eight colors (versus the six colors that became more common).
KEY WEST, FL – JUNE 15: This handout photo from Florida Keys News Bureau shows volunteers helping to stretch the mile and quarter long “World’s longest Rainbow Flag” June 15, 2003 from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic coast along Duval street in Key West, Florida. The flag was created for Rainbow 25 and PrideFest Key West by Gilbert Baker, who designed the original flag in 1978. The record setting flag measures 8,000 feet long by 16 feet wide and used more than 14,000 square yards of fabric. (Photo by Mike Hollar/Florida Keys News Bureau/Getty Images)KEY WEST, FL – JUNE 15: Robert Began helps stretch the mile and quarter long “World’s Longest Rainbow Flag” June 15, 2003 from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic coast along Duval street in Key West, Florida. The flag was created for Rainbow25 and PrideFest Key West. The Record setting flag measures 8,000 feet long by 16 feet wide and used more than 14,000 square yards of fabric. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 07: Rainbow Flag Creator Gilbert Baker poses at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) on January 7, 2016 in New York City. MoMa announced in June 2015 its acquisition of the iconic Rainbow Flag into the design collection. Baker, an openly gay artist and civil rights activist, designed the Rainbow Flag in 1978. The flag has since become a prominent symbol to the gay community around the world. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)A giant rainbow flag – a 30-metre section of a Rainbow Flag created by Gilbert Baker in commemoration for the Stonewall uprising – is being raised at Copenhagen City Hall on August 11, 2021, as preparations are under way for the Copenhagen 2021 WorldPride and EuroGames. – According to the organisers, the “most significant LGBTI+ event in 2021 combining WorldPride, EuroGames, an eclectic arts and culture program, and the biggest ever LGBTI+ human rights forum” will take place from August 12 to 22, 2021. – Denmark OUT (Photo by Ida Guldbaek Arentsen / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP) / Denmark OUT (Photo by IDA GULDBAEK ARENTSEN/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)KEY WEST, FL – JUNE 15: This handout photo from Florida Keys News Bureau shows volunteers helping to stretch the mile and quarter long “World’s longest Rainbow Flag” June 15, 2003 from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic coast along Duval street in Key West, Florida. The flag was created for Rainbow 25 and PrideFest Key West by Gilbert Baker, who designed the original flag in 1978. The record setting flag measures 8,000 feet long by 16 feet wide and used more than 14,000 square yards of fabric. (Photo by Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau/Getty Images)KEY WEST, FL – JUNE 15: This handout photo from Florida Keys News Bureau shows volunteers helping to stretch the mile and quarter long “World’s longest Rainbow Flag” June 15, 2003 from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic coast along Duval street in Key West, Florida. The flag was created for Rainbow 25 and PrideFest Key West by Gilbert Baker, who designed the original flag in 1978. The record setting flag measures 8,000 feet long by 16 feet wide and used more than 14,000 square yards of fabric. (Photo by Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau/Getty Images)KEY WEST, FL – JUNE 16: Volunteers help stretch the mile and quarter long “World’s longest Rainbow Flag” June 15, 2003 from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic coast along Duval street in Key West, Florida. The flag was created for Rainbow 25 and PrideFest Key West. The record setting flag measures 8,000 feet long by 16 feet wide and used more than 14,000 square yards of fabric. (Photo by Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau/Getty Images)
That flag marked the 25th anniversary of the 1978 flag originally created by Baker. The Sea to Sea Flag was later cut into sections, and Section 93 is preserved as the Sacred Cloth. It has traveled the globe to be displayed at celebrations, occasions of mourning, and historic moments.
Section 93 was displayed in downtown Orlando in June 2016 following the deadly Pulse nightclub shootings and has returned to Orlando each year on the anniversary of the tragedy.
“As Colorado Springs mourns, we are heartened that this historic flag has been offered for display,” said Jessie Pocock, Inside Out Youth Services executive director and CEO. “We are grateful for this incredible demonstration of compassion.”
The public is invited to attend the ceremony at Colorado Springs City Hall, 107 North Nevada Avenue, at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23.
