OCTOBER 7, 2025 — In Florida, St. Petersburg City Council member Gina Driscoll is proposing that the city fly two new city flag designs celebrating inclusion and heritage, a move intended to reinforce the city’s identity as both welcoming and historically aware, WTSP-TV reports.
The initiative comes after state officials removed several murals honouring LGBTQ+ pride and Black history under new roadway uniformity rules, says the Tampa Bay Times.
Driscoll’s resolution, set for discussion at Thursday’s council meeting, seeks to authorize the display of two alternate flags: The “Harmony Flag,” featuring the city’s seal over a Progressive Pride design, and the “History Flag,” incorporating colours that symbolize Black history.
Each flag would be displayed at city facilities during “appropriate times of the year.”
The designs were created by local artist Andrea Pawlisz, who previously led the effort to paint the Progressive Pride mural at Central Avenue and 25th Street, one of five murals removed by state crews in August. Driscoll personally funded Pawlisz’s work to develop the new flag concepts.
Driscoll drew inspiration from Salt Lake City, which adopted three official flags representing LGBTQ+, transgender, and Black communities.
“The Harmony and History flags have been specially designed to represent St. Petersburg as a welcoming city for all and one that recognizes the role of history in its identity,” Driscoll said in a written statement.
If the resolution passes, the new flags will join St. Petersburg’s official flag lineage, which dates back to 1927 and was last updated in 1984.
The City Council will vote on the proposal during its 3 p.m. meeting Thursday; if approved, the flag initiative would take effect immediately.
Image: City of St. Petersburg
