Pete Buttigieg adopts black and brown striped-Pride flag for official merch
Mayor Pete officially launched his Presidential 2020 campaign last month
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Presidential 2020 candidate Pete Buttigieg has adopted black and brown striped-Pride flag for official merch.
The flag, a variation on Gilbert Baker’s classic 1978 rainbow design, features an extra black and brown stripe to better recognise BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) LGBT+ people instead of the traditional six-colour rainbow.
It was first adopted by Philadelphia Pride organisers in 2017 and was recently announced to be the official rainbow flag for this year’s Manchester Pride.
The new flag was met with a mixed reaction from members of the LGBT community on social media.
While some welcomed the decision to highlight racial diversity within in the LGBT community, many argued that the traditional six-stripe flag already represented LGBT+ people of all racial backgrounds.
Others pointed out that the degree ill-feeling towards the new design was symptomatic of racism within the LGBT+ community itself.
Now – as other Democrat hopefuls launch their own Pride gear – openly gay Mayor Pete has released his own ranch including the two new stripes – as well as a range with the transgender design.
