Imperial Beach OKs raising the Progress Pride flag annually

In a first for the city, Imperial Beach will raise the Progress Pride flag every June to commemorate LGBTQ Pride Month, following a City Council vote last week.

The South County jurisdiction has raised the flag at its city hall in recent years, but doing so required a council discussion and vote every time.

Neighboring Chula Vista has had annual proclamations declaring June as Pride month and has flown the flag without yearly council votes. Last year, National City flew the rainbow flag for the first time and will do so yearly in the same month after council members agreed to include it in its list of flags to raise at its buildings.

Imperial Beach council members unanimously voted to direct City Manager Andy Hall to purchase a Progress Pride Flag and raise it every June “until otherwise directed by a majority vote of the City Council,” read a city staff report.

The flag the city will purchase, and raise below the state and American flags, is known as the “progress” variation. Its a re-creation of the rainbow flag with five colored chevrons as a symbol of greater inclusivity. In 2018, graphic designer Daniel Quasar added white and light blue and pink to represent trans and non-binary individuals, as well as black and brown for communities of color, according to Quasar’s website.

The proposal drew support from several local residents who identified as members of the LGBTQ community.

About 25 percent of the openly LGBTQ population in South County reside in Imperial Beach and more than half of those members feel welcome, according to data compiled by Rainbow Spaces, a South County-based organization that creates inclusive LGBTQ events for youth.

“Raising the flag for Pride month in Imperial Beach demonstrates the efforts of the council to combat the issues their LGBTQ+ residents tackle and acknowledge the need for inclusivity,” Nadia Kean-Ayub, Rainbow Spaces executive director, said in an emailed statement.

In addition to their vote Tuesday, the City Council also proclaimed June as LGBTQ Pride Month, which they expect to do every year.

Councilmember Paloma Aguirre said Imperial Beach still has “a long way to go as a community” but felt “very proud that this city and this community, along with my council members, can provide a welcoming symbol in general.”