SF's famous pink triangle lights up in ceremony to celebrate pride month
"... it's been a symbol of pride."
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco's famous pink triangle was lit up on Twin Peaks Wednesday night in honor of San Francisco Pride.
The ceremony has become the unofficial start to Pride month.
"It's a tragic symbol as opposed to the Rainbow Flag which was born out of hope and love and optimism the pink triangle was forged through hatred in the concentration camps," said organizer Patrick Carney.
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Carney says the pink triangle is now a symbol of resilience and how far the LGBTQ+ community has come since gay men were forced to wear pink triangles in Nazi Germany.
"We've taken it back and now ever since then, it's been a symbol of pride. Part of celebrating and appreciating any Pride is knowing where you've been and this is it, this is giant big triangle," says Carney.
While San Francisco political figures like Mayor London Breed and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi were in attendance, the featured speaker this year was Jeopardy 40-game winner Amy Schneider who is a proud trans woman.
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"Keep fighting, keep being proud, keep being who you are I've learned this year that being who you are in the open is so powerful and so positive and you don't have to have a revolution you just have to be yourself," said Schneider.
This year's 27th pink triangle lighting also had a special emphasis on those LGBTQ+ community members in Ukrainian cities that are now occupied by Russia.
"Soldiers with guns just walk around and can kill a person just for being gay," said Dmytro Kushneruk who is Consulate General of Ukraine in San Francisco.
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Organizers say there are still challenges as 70 countries from around the world still criminalize homosexuality.
Mayor Breed says, certainly not the case here in San Francisco.
"When they say in Florida, we don't say gay, we light up the city and say gay all day. Yay to the gay, gay, gay," said Mayor Breed.
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