JEFFREY GIBSON is the curator for the Pride educational narrative around Chosen Family. Jeffrey is a Choctaw-Cherokee painter and sculptor as well as a champion for LGBTQ+ rights with an aesthetic focused on color and craft with messages of empowerment and unity. He was recently featured in the Whitney Biennial and named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow recipient of the Genius Grant.
2020
AVRAM FINKELSTEIN
Avram Finkelstein is an artist, activist and writer who uses his platform to celebrate, honor and sustain the narratives of the LGBTQ rights movement. For Avram, “Pride month celebrates the Stonewall Riots of 1969, commonly referred to as the beginning of the LGBTQ+ rights movement. Before that time, queer history existed as hidden narratives in the storytelling tradition, passed from person to person, using codes and vernaculars. LGBTQ stories are now easier to find, but if history proves anything, it’s that rights that are won can also be taken away. Stories can’t be.”
2018
GILBERT BAKER FONT
To honor the memory of Gilbert Baker, NewFest and NYC Pride partnered with Fontself to create a free font inspired by the design language of the iconic Rainbow Flag. The font was named ‘Gilbert’ after Mr. Baker.
1992
THE LESBIAN AVENGERS
The Lesbian Avengers is a direct-action group focused on lesbian visibility and survival. During NYC Pride in 1992, founding members handed out 8,000 club cards that read, “Lesbians! Dykes! Gay Women! We want revenge and we want it now.” Fifty lesbians came to the first meeting, and eventually eighty chapters formed across the US. In 1993 they organized the first Dyke Marches, which continue to take place throughout the US and the world.
1988
N.C.O.D.
The first annual National Coming Out Day was organized on October 11, 1988, to commemorate the one year anniversary of the 1987 march on Washington for lesbian and gay rights. It was established to promote awareness and provide national support for those in the LGBTQ+ community.
Every year on October 11, the event continues to promote a safe environment for members of the LGBTQ+ community to live truthful and open lives among friends and family.
1978
PRIDE FLAG
Artist Gilbert Baker created the first rainbow flag as a symbol of pride for the gay community.
HOT PINK = SEXUALITY
RED = LIFE
ORANGE = HEALING
YELLOW = SUNLIGHT
GREEN = NATURE
TURQUOISE = MAGIC/ART
INDIGO = SERENITY
VIOLET = SPIRIT
1970
GAY PRIDE MARCH
To honor the one year anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, The Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee got together and organized what would come to be known as the nation’s first Gay Pride march. On June 28, 1970, thousands of people showed up to march 51 blocks through the streets of New York City. Now, every year, millions continue to peacefully march for LGBTQ+ Pride in cities across the globe.
1968
FRANK KAMENY
In 1968, the pioneer gay rights activist Frank Kameny coined the phrase “Gay is Good” – a slogan that was used with some frequency by gay rights proponents in the years following the Stonewall riots. The slogan was meant as a response to the widely held view that being gay was somehow shameful or debasing.
As a global brand, it is our obligation as well as opportunity to use our platform to raise awareness around individuals who use their creativity to change the world. It is also important that we use our reach to education consumers while engaging in commerce.
For Pride, we fuse graphic design, education, and commerce by telling the story behind the graphic artwork that powered the LGBTQ+ movement. A T serves as the perfect canvas or platform to get the message out into the world and is a constant educational reference point every time it’s worn.
We expand the story by using our global store windows, commerce site, and Flagship stores as sources for immersive experiences and content, including an in-store party hosted by founding members of the voguing community, book readings, and graphic customization.
A collection that celebrates two iconic American brands, fusing signature plaids from Pendleton’s rich archive with heritage Gap styling.
