What’s the best place to fly the rainbow Pride flag in Fresno? Right now, it’s City Hall
Fresno’s political circles were abuzz this past week about whether it was proper to fly the Pride flag at City Hall.
In 2021, with steady advancements for recognition achieved by the LGBTQ+ community statewide and nationally, that Fresno would continue to wrestle with this shows the growing pains that continue to exist in the fifth-largest city in California.
Locally, the State Center Community College District board voted this week to recognize Pride Month, a first for the district. Fresno State tweeted its support for Pride Month, and the university will raise a rainbow pride flag at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, at the flagpole on campus just south of the Thomas Building.
A Pride flag raising was scheduled for Friday at Fresno City College. And in communities across California, Pride Month celebrations are being held.
The rainbow Pride flag was originally planned to be raised in Fresno on June 1 on one of the City Hall flagpoles because June is Pride Month. It is the time of the year when lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning people can be honored.
But Mayor Jerry Dyer asked that the City Council, not city manager, be put in charge of deciding what flags would be approved for display. The council agreed and set the raising for June 11.
Dyer then responded by pitching a different idea: Creating a “Unity Park” in Eaton Plaza where honorary flags could be displayed, such as the rainbow Pride.
The mayor’s concept faces legal hurdles. It also skirts the heart of the matter: For LGBTQ people, gaining acceptance by their hometown means seeing the Pride flag fly at City Hall in the month of June.
What flag is divisive?
Dyer explained that he found the use of the city flagpole to be potentially divisive. What happens when a council member wants to hoist a flag others would find offensive, such as Blue Lives Matter? “I’ve already gotten feedback from the African American community” on such a possibility, he said in an interview.
The Fresno County Republican Party signaled its opposition to the Pride flag in a May 28 news release. It called hoisting the rainbow flag at City Hall “an attack against Christians, Jews, Muslims, and other faiths.”
To avoid such conflicts, a free speech area set up in Eaton Plaza could be the best place for community groups to fly their flags, Dyer said. The flagpoles at City Hall should stay reserved for “the American flag, the state flag, city of Fresno flag and the POW flag.” He said his office has received hundreds of phone calls making that point.
But the prospect of the Pride flag being displayed at Eaton Plaza, which is several blocks from City Hall, did not sit well with Jeffery Robinson, the CEO of Community Link and Fresno Rainbow Pride. He likened it to “separate but equal” laws used to hinder Black advancement before the civil rights era.
Fresno City Council member Miguel Arias, whose Third District covers downtown, said Dyer had received two legal opinions on the Eaton Plaza idea. Both opinions said that if the city had a free-speech zone, it would not be able to regulate the flags put there.
“So the Confederate flag, the KKK (Ku Klux Klan), Black Lives Matter” flags could all be put up, regardless of the offense they create, Arias said.
Important to LGBTQ people
Carole Goldsmith, the president of Fresno City College, is a gay woman. She was grateful to the State Center trustees for passing the resolution recognizing Pride Month because of how it supports LGBTQ students.
“As a member of the LGBTQ community, it is important for people to see visible signs of acceptance and inclusivity,” she said.
Dyer too expressed his caring for Fresno’s LGBTQ residents. “I love the LGBTQ community. I love people in general. I don’t want to divide people.”
A key way for Dyer to show that care, and to realize his dream of “One Fresno,” is to honor people at the time they need it most. For Fresno’s LGBTQ community, that time is right now. And the best place for that is City Hall, the center of local government.
Rather than rush to make Eaton Plaza and his Unity Park concept happen this month, Dyer should put it on pause for a year and involve LGBTQ members in a discussion of how best to move forward in the future.
The worst thing he can do? Veto the council’s resolution to allow the flag raising. The council would likely try to override the veto, which, if successful, would be a first for Dyer. That would be an unfortunate use of political capital the mayor will need in what promises to be tough budget battles coming in a few weeks.
This story was originally published June 4, 2021 at 10:17 AM.