Long Beach repaints rainbow Pride crosswalks to be more inclusive

Five rainbow-painted crosswalks celebrating LGBTQ+ pride in Long Beach will be pressure-washed and repainted with new flags featuring more inclusive colors in the coming weeks.

While the current crosswalks only include the colors of the rainbow—the traditional colors of the Pride flag—the new crosswalks will feature the Progress Pride flag.

Unlike the traditional Pride flag, the Progress Pride flag includes a triangle featuring the white, pink and blue stripes of the transgender flag and stripes of brown and black, representing the inclusion of marginalized people of color.

The updated flag was created in 2018 by non-binary American artist Daniel Quasar, who based their design on the original Pride flag, adding a triangle jutting out from the left with the new colors.

The original rainbow Pride flag was designed by Gilbert Baker in 1978. He later revealed he was urged by Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States and the inspiration for Long Beach’s namesake park, to create a symbol of pride for the community.

He assigned each color on the flag a meaning: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for magic, indigo for serenity and violet for spirit. The pink and turquoise stripes were later dropped due to a shortage of pink fabric and legibility concerns, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

The first repainted crosswalk at the intersection of Broadway and Junipero Avenue was completed Thursday morning. The remaining four crosswalks, which were originally painted in 2017, will be repainted in the coming weeks, according to a spokesperson from the Long Beach Public Works Department.

Councilmember Cindy Allen and a member of her staff walk across the repainted pride flag-themed crosswalk at the corner of Junipero Avenue and Broadway in Long Beach on June 30, 2022. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)

The other four rainbow crosswalks are located at the intersections of Broadway and Newport, Cherry, Falcon and Orange Avenues.

The strip of Broadway is home to a variety of prominent gay bars such as The Falcon, Mineshaft, Sweetwater Saloon, the Broadway Cocktail Lounge and the gay-owned Beach Garden Social Club, among others.

The move comes just weeks before the Long Beach Pride Parade and Festival, which will take place Saturday, July 9 and Sunday, July 10.

Headlining singers Iggy Azalea, Natalia Jimenez and Paulina Rubio will perform at the event. The festival will feature a silent disco, an adult S&M playground, a family fun zone, a roller rink, a dance competition, artist walls and a drag diva glam squad.