What the Colors of the Progress Pride Flag Represent 

August 25, 2024 by  
Filed under What If? blog

The Progress Pride Flag
The Progress Pride Flag

The Progress Pride Flag was designed in 2018 by Daniel Quaser, a non-binary artist and graphic designer.  The word “progress” in the name of this flag is not only about adding new colors.  It is also because of the shape, which differs from the original design of horizontal stripes only. The Progress Pride Flag displays White, Pink, Baby Blue, Black and Brown depicting the shape of an arrow, while retaining the original six rainbow colors in horizontal stripes alongside the new, additional colors.

Canada and the United States of America continue moving forward on the journey in support of LGBTQIA+ rights, and Daniel Quaser’s design is inspired by this progress, shaping the Transgender Flag colors along with black and brown stripes into an arrow pointing forward.  Quasar spoke publicly about how work is still needed in terms of ‘people of color’ rights and ‘trans’ rights. The arrow design is meant to highlight this ongoing need for progress.     

Each color on the Progress Pride Flag has a distinct meaning. 

Here is a description of what each color represents:

Red
The color Red on the flag represents life. 

Orange
The color Orange on the flag represents healing. 

Yellow
The color Yellow on the flag represents sunlight.

Green
The color Green on the flag represents nature.

Indigo or Blue
The color Indigo or Blue on the flag represents serenity. 

Violet
The color Violet on the flag represents spirit. 

Black and Brown
The colors Black and Brown on the flag represent people of color (POC). This is an important addition, because people of color often have been left out of the narrative despite being highly influential in the LGBTQIA+ movement.

Additionally, the colors Black and Brown represent people living with HIV/AIDS, those who have died from it, and the stigma around the virus that is still present today.

Pink, Baby Blue and White
The colors Pink and Baby Blue have been used traditionally to represent whether a baby is a boy or a girl. Here, the colors denote those genders.    The color White on the flag represents people who are transitioning, intersex, or identify outside of the gender binary.