It’s Pride Season. It’s that time of year where LGBTQ+ folks remember the struggle for equality, continue to fight for diversity and celebrate their lives out loud and proud. Typically, it’s not hard to recognize Pride Season in the Queen City because the Charlotte skyline boasts the vibrant colors of the rainbow Pride flag.
The night sky is generally lit up with bright affirming lights in the iconic colors of the flag originally designed by Gilbert Baker, an American artist, activist and drag queen. Created at the request of San Francisco politician Harvey Milk, the original flag of eight colors debuted in 1978, but two colors (hot pink and teal) were dropped the following year as mass production of those colors proved challenging – leaving us with the six colors we’re accustomed to seeing so proudly displayed today.
So, what happened to our colorful skyline and support from locally-based businesses this June? If you’ve been in Charlotte for more than a few years, you may have noticed a change for 2026. A decrease in visible support in some ways, but the word ‘scattered’ might best define the overall feel.
Let’s begin by looking at the national difference between last year and this year for some possible answers. The Human Rights Campaign just released its annual Corporate Equality Index (CEI), assessing corporate diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives among the biggest U.S. companies in 2025.
The report highlighted a notable decline in the number of companies choosing to disclose information about their non-discrimination practices, equitable employee benefits, inclusive workplace environments and corporate social responsibility efforts – the four core components of the CEI. This decrease occurred amid heightened scrutiny of DEI initiatives by the current administration, which has publicly criticized such programs and sought to eliminate related efforts throughout the federal government.
Participation in the CEI dropped sharply in 2026, with only 131 Fortune 500 companies taking part, compared with 377 in 2025, representing a 65 percent decrease. According to HRC, many of the companies that withdrew from the index are federal contractors.
It is important to note, June is mostly recognized as national Pride month, though Charlotte and many other cities celebrate Pride in different months. The Queen City’s Pride festival and parade are held in August. Locally, some businesses kick the lights on in June, while others choose August.
This year, some residents have noticed the difference from years past, but have hopes we may see cohesion, greater visibility and support during our August Pride celebration.
As you might imagine, in the midst of such a turbulent political climate, it was challenging to get corporate representatives to respond to our inquiry. However, there was no shortage of community members willing to weigh in with their thoughts on the matter.
Most of the individuals we spoke with pointed a finger at the current administration for lack of representation reflected in Charlotte’s skyline this time of year.
Among the brave businesses willing to boast the colors of Pride, Truist Bank was alight in the colors of Pride on June 1, while Duke Energy, Wells Fargo and Bank of America reportedly showed Pride colors June 15. The Carolina Panthers shared posts on both X and Instagram with their logo and beneath it, the words: “Football is for Everyone” and “Celebrate Pride” in rainbow colors.
According to Cyd Zeigler, a journalist with Outsports, as of the beginning of June approximately 72 percent of NFL teams made a [positive/affirming] Pride post. Those teams include The Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Louisiana Saints, New York Jets and The Tennessee Titans.
Unfortunately, the response to such support isn’t all positive. A quick read of comments on sports team posts affirming the LGBTQ+ community and Pride month makes it clear that hate is a sport of its own – one of major proportions. Of the lighter examples (they can be pretty intense in their vitriol) from those responding to the Panthers post: “Is there a dislike button?,” “This is 100 percent not necessary in football” and “Let’s focus on winning on the field.”
For that last comment, we’d just like to say, yes – that’s exactly what we’re doing, focusing on winning on the field that makes up the diverse fabric of our society. It’s our opinion that when we embrace diversity by affirming LGBTQ+ community members, we all win. And apparently, that’s a concept that isn’t lost on Charlotte’s transportation system as well.
Charlotte Area Transportation System (CATS) made a social media post of their own. In a recent Facebook post, a CATS representative shared: “Public transit connects people from all walks of life, and we’re proud to help create a system where everyone feels welcome, seen, and supported.”
Public Health professional and community advocate Brodderick Roary noted three primary components – visibility, symbolic impact and civic representation – as key reasons corporate support matters for our community.
“The lesser presence of Pride Month lighting in Uptown Charlotte sends a message about visibility and inclusion that many residents and visitors notice,” Roary explained. “Visibility matters. Lighting can reaffirm that LGBTQ+ communities are welcome in our city core. Symbolic impact [or] public displays signal that Pride values are part of the community’s identity, not just a niche concern. Civic representation [shows] residents expect municipal and business leadership to model inclusivity through public spaces.”
Camile Moss Rivera expressed her disappointment in what she believes is a combination of people and companies jumping onto the bandwagon of bigotry inspired by the current U.S. administration. “I feel like since this new administration, people have really shown their true colors and chosen their side. It seems like [many] people would rather follow unethical politics instead of doing their research and treating everyone like a human being.”
Rivera also says she fears organizations who receive financial support from right-wing Christian fundamentalist groups are being forced to pull their support for the LGBTQ+ community when they should be supporting the diversity of their customers and employees in the workforce. “With all these new laws, anti-trans and LGBTQ discourse, I’m pretty sure [Pride support] is a big issue for religious people and Republicans who [take issue] with LGBT culture.”
Melissa Funderburk is a community advocate and DEI consultant who echoed many of Rivera’s sentiments. “They make us feel as queer people, we don’t matter, and because of the current political climate, people, they’re going above and beyond to erase things that represent [our] community. I would say it’s because of lack of knowledge and an atmosphere of fear.”
As stated near the beginning of this article, Charlotte Pride takes place in August with neighboring cities in the Carolinas celebrating all the way through November.
This gives us time to advocate for inclusion, remind businesses that our skyline should be alight in the colors of LGBTQ Pride and show our appreciation for the welcoming signal those colors send to residents and visitors alike.
