This June, the Pride Month flags being displayed on Franklin Street have been chosen directly by Chapel Hill community members.
The decision to get community input about which flags they wished to see came after some town members shared concerns in 2022 that certain LGBTQIA+ flags were being flown over others— specifically, the absence of the lesbian flag.
The nonprofit group Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership used a survey to determine exactly which Pride flags to display for 2023.
“We wanted community input for how they wanted their downtown to look,” said the group’s director of marketing Stephanie Cobert. “Last year we put up pride flags but we had some feedback that, you know, people wanted to see other flags, not just the main rainbow pride flag. They wanted to see ones representing other groups.”
So this year,” she continued, “we decided to launch a survey to see which flags exactly people wanted to see, to get that feedback, so that way we could accurately display what our community wanted.”
The survey was a Google Form that allowed people to pick from images of different Pride flags and provide comments about which ones they wanted to see and why. The survey had more than 150 individual respondents and since people could pick the multiple flags they wanted to see, there were more than 700 responses.
Pride Flag Survey Results (Graphic via Downtown Chapel Hill Partnership)
The survey results found the most wanted flags include the Progress Pride Flag, Transgender Pride Flag and Lesbian Pride Flag. The flags will hang from Henderson Street through the 140 W. Plaza all throughout June, except for June 14th when they will temporarily be replaced with American flags for Flag Day.
According to Cobert, Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership wants to continue using community feedback in its work.
“We wanted to get community feedback because we would never want anyone to feel excluded,” she said. “So we wanted to ask our local community what they’d like to see. And going forward, we hope that this is the start of getting local feedback and really reaching out to the community for that engagement so that they feel like their voices are getting heard.”
To kick off Pride Month, the second annual Chapel Hill Pride Promenade will take place on June 3rd. The event is a collaboration with Chapel Hill Community Arts and Culture and will include music, activities and celebration. To learn more, click here.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.
Related Stories
‹
Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership Runs Survey on Local Pride FlagsAhead of Pride Month in June, the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership is taking feedback from community members about which LGBTQIA+ flags they wish to see. The nonprofit, which partners with the local government, has installed and displayed the flags for the past several years. In 2022, however, some community members shared concerns of certain LGBTQIA+ […]
Downtown Chapel Hill To Diversify Pride Flags, Will Add Lesbian FlagAt the start of Pride Month, downtown Chapel Hill is decorated with all the colors of the rainbow. Pride flags hang throughout town representing different factions of the LGBTQIA+ community. But, community members noticed the pink, orange, red and white of the lesbian flag is missing.
'Uplifting' Pride Promenade Marches Through Chapel HillWith Carolina blue sky above, downtown Chapel Hill was filled with many colors on Saturday afternoon for the local Pride Promenade. With hundreds of people wearing and waving various combinations of colors to represent factions of the LGBTQ+ community, participants gathered in the Peace and Justice Plaza before marching down Franklin Street. Organizers […]
VooDoo Wing Company to Open Chapel Hill Location on July 31A growing wing company has set its sights on opening its first North Carolina location in the coming days, with the location in downtown Chapel Hill. VooDoo Wing Company plans to open on East Franklin Street on Wednesday, July 31, management and ownership told Chapelboro. The location will be the business’ ninth after it was […]
Downtown Starbucks To Relocate on East Franklin Street in Chapel HillAccording to Starbucks' store manager Daniel Reutzel, the new location is expected to open between mid-July and August 1st, before the new school year starts at UNC. Reutzel said Starbucks has been "looking into" the new location for at least two years, and he is excited to expand.
Public Memorial Set for Chapel Hill Business Owners Killed in CrashAfter the Chapel Hill business community was shaken by the deaths of Dhruva and Kris Chellani earlier this month, a public memorial in their honor is set for downtown this weekend. Organizers are asking those around Chapel Hill who knew the Chellanis to gather at the Peace & Justice Plaza on East Franklin Street on […]
'What Can We Do To Help?': How Chapel Hill Is Offering Support to Damaged W. Franklin ShopsChapel Hill leaders met once again Wednesday with the business owners of five West Franklin Street shops affected by a recent fire.
Jeffrey Hoagland Explains Why He's Running for Chapel Hill Town CouncilOne of clearest trends from the candidates who filed for the local elections in Orange County this fall is a wave of newcomers seeking elected office. It’s especially notable in Chapel Hill’s races, as several first-time candidates filed to run for the town council. Jeffrey Hoagland is an exception. Having run in 2021 and earned […]
'Path as Place': Chapel Hill Town Council Hears Plans for Downtown Mobility ImprovementsToole Design shared findings from its Downtown Mobility Study with Chapel Hill Town Council and suggestions for expanding accessibility.
![]()
Chapel Hill: Preparing for the FC Series, Uproar, and The JunctionChapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger joins 97.9 The Hill's Brighton McConnell over the phone on Thursday, July 13.
›
There must surely be more than 150 people in the Chapel Hill community who would have an opinion on this, if it had been better publicised, and the article does not explain how the responses will be used. Having said that, does the Downtown Partnership really need an online survey to determine what true inclusivity looks like? Surely if there is even one vote, that flag needs to be on display; otherwise, you’re excluding folks. And a multiple-choice poll is in itself inherently exclusionary, since you are deciding the acceptable choices by what you include and how you label each item. There may be better ways than this to foster inclusive community downtown.
What a superfluous waste of “democratic process” by only 150 people who even give a rat’s derriere. There are far more (by several orders of magnitude) of former drinkers of Bud Light, even in Chapel Hill, who have dropped Bud Light/AB InBev from their grocery shopping list.