With the Bay Area’s pink triangle display — returning for Pride month — the political is also personal

TWIN PEAKS Patrick Carney s mother Edith invariably embraced his taste for the extravagant That includes the tarps he and a dozen friends purchased from Home Depot on a shoestring budget in painted Mardi Gras pink and installed on Twin Peaks on a dark June night He s stepped up as the annual event organizer ever since inspired by the legacy that started with a light-hearted renegade and technically illegal craft project to add a DIY pop of color to San Francisco s Pride A pink triangle went up rather than a rainbow flag there are plenty of those in the Castro Carney disclosed People thought it was just another abstract colorful symbol for the gay area It was only after that that I realized so countless people didn t know what it was even people within the gay locality The display spans nearly an acre of the hillside visible to drivers navigating San Francisco s freeways and bridges as well as people taking in the view of Twin Peaks from windows rooftops and streets up to miles away Ahead of the th anniversary this year helpers will start preparing the site Saturday for the mesh tarps that will be pinned down with -inch steel spikes complete with a edge of reflective pink sailcloth that makes the display pop in the pre-summer sun The Pink Triange spans nearly an acre of the hillside on Twin Peaks visible to drivers navigating San Francisco s freeways and bridges connecting San Francisco On the ground the long skinny triangle s shape changes slightly each year but the iconic imagery is rooted in the s when Nazis would force gay men to wear a pink triangle so they could be easily identified during the Holocaust But the influence for Carney and his pal s then-rebellious art was modern In the mid- s San Francisco was embroiled in the AIDS emergency and feeling the traumatic loss of thousands of primarily young gay men The pink triangle was reclaimed by s activists with ACT UP used as a symbol in their silence death campaign for healthcare curative research and basic respect from local and national representatives as well as activists protesting homophobia a decade prior Years later that pressure was crucial in the expansion of medications for those infected with HIV that reduces the once-deadly virus until it is no longer transmittable as well as pills that reduce hazard after prospective exposure Federal cuts to foreign aid including funding for supplies to treat million people with HIV now threaten progress to end HIV AIDS by and puts millions of lives in jeopardy This needed to be a giant in-your-face educational project with the goal of bringing the population together to help build it Carney disclosed of the annual display The -year-old San Francisco resident himself a long-term HIV survivor mentioned the LGBTQ society has been forged by people choosing to openly be themselves including simple acts like wearing a shirt with a pink triangle The Pink Triangle is illuminated during the th annual commemoration and lighting ceremony at Twin Peaks in San Francisco on Wednesday June The Pink Triangle marks the beginning of Pride Month across California featuring over LED lights and more than mile of sparkling pink streamers Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Paired with the rainbow flag which Gilbert Baker created for San Francisco s Pride parade Carney stated the pink triangle completes a visual yin and yang that bookmarks the gay rights movement Now in they re trying to ban rainbow flags in particular states even in California The Pink Triangle is up there as a warning and reminder a highly visible moot reminder of inhumanity he stated But the real inspiration that s powered the Pink Triangle for years may be the hidden history lesson People just want to participate because it s kind of like Muslims going to Mecca they have to do it once in their lifetime Carney reported explaining that there s opportunity for everyone introverts and extroverts alike to help You can build a float and be in the parade you can dress up in particular elaborate outfit or you can just show up on Twin Peaks and carry a bag of nails up the hill for minutes We have this world famous pride so be part of it in selected way A group photo is taken of the participants sitting on the pink triangle after the completion on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco Calif in June of Photo by Hossein Carney In he commented the hunger for public engagement is especially palpable and he expects volunteer sign-up tallies to exceed by the weekend While he s capped out on the number of T-shirts the Bob Ross Foundation paid for he invites anyone who wants to chip in free labor Starting with a commemoration ceremony June the Pink Triangle will be on display for three weeks of Pride month in June before it s broken down following the annual parade along Realm Street Carney mentioned the annual art installation continues to transform the hillside at Christmas Tree Point Road into a beacon of hope kicking off San Francisco Pride with a lesson on history and resilience and belonging There s never room for subtlety during Pride month participation is the goal he noted The population building aspect is one of the the greater part gratifying to me seeing all of these people families from far and wide driving in with their kids to meet gay people one-on-one and to learn Though his mother Edith who handed out coffee and donuts to supporters and became a mother of all mothers as one person described her in a poem to anyone whose parents rejected them passed away in at the age of her warmth and welcoming spirit lives on in the Pink Triangle s annual festivities Masses of people miss her In fact people would come to the pink triangle to see her he declared While there won t be Safeway donuts Starbucks is bringing coffee and pastries to supplement volunteer-supplied water strength bars and other snacks In the South Bay former Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager became the county s first openly gay elected official in three years before the Pink Triangle debuted on Twin Peaks hillside Himself a trailblazer for LGBTQ rights Yeager has spent the past several years chronicling and compiling the South Bay s history into a single project Queer Silicon Valley He announced the historic Pink Triangle installations can act as a mirror tying a thread between homophobia and other fences for LGBTQ people that have changed over the years That includes his first campaign for trustee of the San Jose-Evergreen Area College District which was clouded by fear and the unknown that dissipated as the larger society saw daily examples of gay people existing in society supported by citizens figures and works of art that proudly shine a light on the queer district s struggles and victories He noted that San Jose is celebrating its th annual Pride in August while Los Gatos is kicking off its first month-long event on Sunday In my accomplishment sent a wider message that the city of San Jose was a place that cared and supported gay people Yeager reported adding that he encouraged fellow city staff who were wary of coming out of the closet If you don t have any openly gay people you don t really have a lot of proof that it s an accepting locality