Pride Flag Raising Marks 20 Years Since 'The Great Flag Flap' in Owen Sound
Joan Beecroft reflects on Owen Sound's Pride flag-flying history and shares the story of how our community flagpole to the side of City Hall came to be.
COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION
by Joan Beecroft, originally published in The Owen Sounder
How can it be 20 years already since Owen Sound raised the first Pride flag? It was the basic 6-colour rainbow striped version then, and what we now call ‘The Great Flag Flap’ had quite an impact on City Hall and the people who live here.
At that time, the Elementary Teachers' Federation (ETFO) Bluewater Local Human Rights Committee requested that City Council raise the Pride flag. Mayor and Council agreed.
On the morning of June 24, 2005, we expected a brief and quiet ceremony on the front steps of City Hall. It started that way, but a local radio announcer noticed and went on air about “something going on at City Hall… better get down there.”
And people came in droves.
There were around 80 supporters and a small, mostly silent protest group complete with the quasi-religious signs we’ve come to expect. Brief words were spoken by me and the acting mayor, the flag went up, and then we all went to work.
The next day, the proverbial $h!% hit the fan.
Letters to the editor of the Sun Times ran for a few weeks—some pro, some con. The City’s flag policy was changed, and to be clear, it was completely locked down so that only a very few governmental flags could ever be flown.
Things stayed that way for 12 years, despite a quiet and sustained effort by several people to get several Councils to see the reasons for raising flags of all community groups.
The policy wasn’t changed until 2017, and it’s a really solid, inclusive one now.
Coincidentally (sarcfont), that was the year after Owen Sound Police Service raised the Pride flag at the police station. City Hall was closed for renovations then, so for a couple of years, the flag was raised at the Bayshore arena instead.
But the renovation plans at City Hall changed: they decided to add a community flagpole around the corner of City Hall, and raise all community flags there. Does that feel to anyone else a bit like being shoved off to the side? The flagpole is relatively close to the building, flanked by trees that have grown up around it, so flags there don’t catch a lot of breeze or attention.
Now, the Pride flag is raised there, and so are many others throughout the year. And that’s a good thing.
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It's good to have this perspective; progress has been made for sure. Thanks to ETFO and key people like Joan who made the initial ask.