Raising Pride at Civic Plaza

Today, Mayor Tim Keller and the Office of Equity and Inclusion, along with leaders from the Albuquerque Pride Board, the Albuquerque Gay Men's Choir, and Marshall Martinez of Equity New Mexico, raised the Pride flag on Civic Plaza and celebrated the City's expanded Human Rights Ordinance.

Last month, the City updated its Human Rights Ordinance to include protection against discrimination on gender, identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy or childbirth. The amendment passed City Council unanimously, sending a clear message that Albuquerque celebrates and will protect diversity. For the second year in a row, Albuquerque scored 100 on a report card issued by the National Human Rights Campaign for LGBTQIA+ inclusivity.

"Pride is a month of celebration, and it is also an important reminder that the LGBTQIA2S+ community is still fighting against systemic violence and injustice across the country," said Mayor Tim Keller. "Here in Albuquerque, the City is doing more than ever to ensure our community enjoys access to opportunities and protection from discrimination, like updating our City Human Rights Ordinance to include gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and pregnancy."

"Equality NM is honored to be invited to this momentous kickoff of pride weekend!" said Marshall Martinez, Executive Director of Equality NM. We are grateful to the Mayor's Office for their ongoing commitment to the values of Pride, inclusion, and affirmation of the LGBTQ community. We will use Pride to recommit to our work to make Albuquerque and New Mexico a beacon of safety for queer and Trans people everywhere!

The flag, located on the Northeast corner of Civic Plaza, is a symbol of both the struggles and oppression that people in the LGBTQIA2S+ community have faced and continue to face and the hope they hold for the true liberation of everyone in the community.

The City raised the updated Pride Progress Flag, which includes a yellow triangle with a purple circle to acknowledge the intersex community. The Progress Pride Flag debuted in 2018 with the white, pink, baby blue, black, and brown stripes in a triangle shape with the original six color stripes stacked next to them. The black and brown colors represent marginalized LGBTQIA2S+ people of color and those living with AIDS/HIV and the light blue, pink, and white represent the transgender community.

"Raising the flag is important," said Dawn Begay, Acting Director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion. It shows our LGBTQIA2S+ family that as a city, we stand with them."