Progress pride flag will fly in Oak Bluffs June 1-14, with Select Board and NAACP agreement

OAK BLUFFS — In a 4-1 vote, the Oak Bluffs Select Board voted Tuesday in favor of flying the progress pride flag at Ocean Park from June 1 through June 14.

The NAACP of Martha’s Vineyard sent a letter on April 15 to Town Administrator Deborah Potter requesting approval to fly the progress pride flag at Ocean Park, Oak Bluffs Town Hall, Oak Bluffs Fire-EMS Station and the Oak Bluffs Police Station.

The progress pride flag, according to Jennelle Gadowski, chair of the LGBTQ+ Committee for the island’s NAACP chapter, is a new take on the traditional rainbow pride flag that uplifts marginalized groups within the LGBTQ community, including transgender and Black, Indigenous and people of color.

In an interview before Tuesday’s board meeting, Arthur Hardy-Doubleday, president of Martha’s Vineyard NAACP chapter and an Oak Bluffs resident and lawyer, said last summer the NAACP brought the same proposal to the Oak Bluffs Select Board for approval to fly the progress pride flag on town flagpoles, but the Select Board denied the request.

All other towns on the island, except for Chilmark, flew the progress pride flag for pride month, with Aquinnah even keeping it year-round.

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Hardy-Doubleday said that, at the time, the Select Board noted no other third-party flag — any flag besides the commonwealth of Massachusetts or the town of Oak Bluffs flag — should be flown beneath the American flag except for the prisoner of war/MIA flag.

Gadowski said the same, and added that some Select Board members, who are veterans themselves, felt it would be disrespectful to fly the progress pride flag beneath the American flag.

The progress pride flag was instead hung on a fence behind the police station.

“They chose a fence on the back of the police station in a small dingy alley, and we felt very disheartened by that, very uncomfortable,” Gadowski said. “Several people came to us and said they didn’t like that, and people in the community said they were really upset with that.”

After many conversations with Hardy-Doubleday, a change

At Tuesday's Select Board meeting, board Chairman Brian Packish said that in the many conversations he’s had with Hardy-Doubleday since last summer, he has recognized that the Select Board should and can do better in regards to the pride flag.

Prior to the testimony and board decision about the flying of the progress pride flag, the board discussed the possible implementation of a flag policy for the town, which would prohibit the flying of all third-party flags on town property.

Hardy-Doubleday argued on Tuesday that the policy, as proposed, is too strict, and that the board could potentially tie their hands behind their back.

He suggested a possible change to the policy to include language that would allow the Select Board to choose, at its discretion, which third-party flags to fly.

Board members discussed the possible risk of implementing discretionary power for the Select Board.

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The Supreme Court heard arguments in January 2022 of a similar case, Shurtleff v. City of Boston, where the city refused to raise the flag of the Christian group Camp Constitution.

The question before the court now is whether government flagpoles are private or public speech, and if the city violated the group’s First Amendment right to free speech.

The decision of the case is still pending, a fact that Potter, the town administrator, noted in a letter read by board members on Tuesday, explaining the Oak Bluffs’ opinion on the policy.

Potter and some board members wanted to wait until the court case is decided before they implement a flag policy.

The Select Board decided to create a flag policy subcommittee, consisting of board members Emma Green-Beach and Ryan Ruley, as well as two members from the Martha’s Vineyard NAACP and one to three at-large members to flesh out the policy further.

The NAACP, having already received the go-ahead from the town Parks Commission at a Monday hearing for a June 1 flag-raising ceremony, then presented their case to the Select Board.

Alex Palmer, secretary of the Martha’s Vineyard NAACP, said it is more important now than ever for Oak Bluffs, a historically diverse and open-minded town, to show support with the LGBTQ community because of recent anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ laws passed in Texas.

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“We need to take a stand before it’s too late,” he said

A woman wearing a shirt that read “Protect Trans Kids” at the meeting said she was testifying in support of her trans child, and emphasized the importance of the town showing solidarity with the LGBTQ community in this way.

Although the NAACP originally requested the flag to be flown for the whole month, a compromise was struck on Tuesday between the Select Board and the organization, and a fourteen-day period was agreed upon by both parties.

Importance of pride flag for younger LGBTQ generation

For Sofie Green, vice-president of the Oak Bluffs Association (OBA,) owner of Island Outfitters and a member of the LGBTQ community, the pride flag belongs in Oak Bluffs.

Green, who grew up in Alabama, made Oak Bluffs her permanent home in large part because of its open mindedness and diversity, but with pushback on issues like flying pride flags, she worries for the younger LGBTQ generation on the island.

“When you’re a teenager and even in your early twenties, you’re always searching for an identity, for a community where you feel loved and supported,” she said. “I want young people to feel like they have a place here in OB.”

Hardy-Doubleday, prior to Tuesday's meeting, echoed this, noting the youngest member of the Martha’s Vineyard NAACP is a non-binary sixth-grader, which to the lawyer highlights how crucial it is that young LGBTQ citizens see themselves reflected in their town.

“Raising this flag is very, very, very important,” he said.

Gadowski, who identifies as a lesbian, noted that her three younger sisters have inspired her to become passionate in fighting for the flying of the pride flag.

“This is a small step in what should be a large discussion about acceptance and respect and inclusion in our community,” she said in an interview before the Select Board meeting. “Showing this small step of raising the progress pride flag is showing that you support us, queer folk, and trans and non-binary folk and, that we’re not just tolerated, but respected and treated just as any other community member, or any other constituent.”

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Oak Bluffs' Ocean Park will fly progress pride flag