First Pride Flag Launched by Planting Peace ‘For LGBTQ Children Who Are Struggling’ to Know ‘They Are Not Alone’
The non-profit human rights organization that brought the ‘Equality House’ to the prairie city of Topeka, Kansas, which is also home to the Westboro Baptist Church – known for its hate speech especially against LGBT people, Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Jews, American soldiers and politicians – has launched a brand new initiative to further human rights for the LGBTQ community. On August 17 Planting Peace sent the first pride flag into space, and in doing so, the organization declared space LGBTQ friendly.
“It was an honor to send the first pride flag into space, and it provided a wonderful opportunity to show that Planting Peace will not stop fighting for LGBTQ rights until all sexual and gender minorities experience full, fundamental rights in every corner of the universe,†said Aaron Jackson, president of Planting Peace. “The backdrop of space gave us a stunning, inspiring and peaceful canvas for our message of hope to our LGBTQ family. I would love for LGBTQ children who are struggling to see this, and look up to the stars and remember that the universe shines brightly for them, and they are not alone.â€
Utilizing a high altitude balloon equipped with a GoPro® camera, that was launched just outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the pride flag was airborne for just over three hours before making its way back to earth. At its peak altitude, the flag soared 21.1 miles above the earth’s surface.
In an email conversation with The New Civil Rights Movement Wednesday, Jackson stated, “The primary purpose of this declaration is to support the ongoing fight for the fundamental human rights of our LGBTQ family, moving us closer to a universal understanding that all people deserve to live freely and love freely without fear and discrimination Our hope was to create the largest safe SPACE possible for our LGBTQ community. It also offered us a chance to reinforce, in a peaceful, beautiful way, our ongoing message to our LGBTQ family: You are loved, valued and beautiful. There is nothing wrong with you. You are not alone, and we will stand with you.â€
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