Sonoma State University

Celebrating Pride Month

What is Pride Month?

Pride Month, celebrated each June, honors the history, resilience, and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and other diverse (LGBTQIA+) communities. It commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, a pivotal moment in the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights, and the first Pride March held in New York City in 1970.

Today, Pride Month is recognized worldwide through parades, educational programs, community events, and cultural celebrations that promote visibility, inclusion, and belonging.

Pride Month celebrates the diversity and achievements of LGBTQIA+ individuals while reaffirming the ongoing commitment to equity, inclusion, and belonging for all.

A Brief History of the Pride Flag

The Pride flag was first introduced in 1978 by Gilbert Baker, who was asked by the San Francisco Pride Committee to create a symbol for the fight for equal rights. Baker chose the rainbow as a representation of diversity, acceptance, love, tolerance, and peace. Since then, the rainbow flag has become a globally recognized symbol of the LGBTQ+ rights movement.

In 2021, Valentino Vecchietti created the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride Flag. This design builds on Daniel Quasar’s Progress Pride Flag by adding a purple circle over a yellow triangle within the chevron on the left side of the flag. The addition honors the Intersex Pride Flag, created in 2013 by Morgan Carpenter, an Australian bioethicist and researcher.

The yellow and purple colors were intentionally chosen because they are not traditionally associated with any one gender, and the circle represents wholeness, completeness, and the right of intersex people to be recognized as they are.

Pride Month Events

Join Sonoma State University as we celebrate Pride Month and honor the resilience, diversity, and contributions of LGBTQ+ communities.

Pride Flag Raising Ceremony

Monday, June 1
12:00 p.m.
Flagpoles near the Main Entrance

Join students, faculty, staff, and community members as we raise the Pride Flag and officially kick off Pride Month at Sonoma State University.

Pizza Social & Pride Poster Making

Monday, June 1
Immediately Following the Flag Raising
Weyden + Brewster, Student Center

Following the ceremony, join us for pizza, community building, and poster making as we prepare for Sonoma County Pride. Sign-making supplies will be provided.

Sonoma County Pride Parade

Saturday, June 6
Downtown Santa Rosa

Sonoma State University is proud to participate in the Sonoma County Pride Parade. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, family members, friends, and allies are invited to join us as we celebrate visibility, belonging, and community.

The parade begins at 11:00 a.m., with participant line-up beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Pride t-shirts will be available to the first 100 registered participants (one shirt per person while supplies last).

Resources