SALT LAKE CITY — Natalie Bee is not afraid of hard work, especially if it means people feel accepted, which is something she’s not used to.
“When I was growing up, didn't have a lot of representation, obviously,” Bee said. "I find it funny to think I've lived here almost a decade, and I still hesitate to call it home.”
That’s why for the past two years, she’s been one of 500 volunteers who plant pride flags in the yards of homeowners who donate to Project Rainbow.
“Putting out a flag is not for necessarily your representation; it's for someone who's going to see it and think that they're not alone,” Bee said.
It’s Project Rainbow’s eighth year doing this, but executive director Jacey Thornton remembers the moment she realized how much it benefited the community.
“When I removed flags that year and people coming out thinking that I was stealing a flag,” she said. " I was like, oh, oh, that happens. It didn't even dawn on me, right? And so I knew that this was a need in our community.”
However, after Utah became the first state last year to ban pride flags on public property, Thornton said it’s made it even more challenging.
“There's a confusion about that. People feel, 'I can't put a flag in my yard anymore because is that public?' So we're putting out about half of the flags we used to for pride,” she said. "Our legislature makes sure to attack our rights, and so these flags of solidarity are so vital right now.”
Thornton said she’s seen how much of an impact one flag can make.
“Because I reliably put a flag in my yard, they said my family doesn’t accept me, and every day I would drive by your house and see that there was someone in my neighborhood, and that gave me so much hope,” she said through tears.
That's why Bee will continue to hammer away, to make sure those around her feel represented.
“I'm a walking billboard of who I am,” she said. "I just hate to think that people growing up here in Utah might think that they don't belong in the place that they've called home... just an absolutely horrid way to grow up.”
You can order your own flag or learn more about Project Rainbow on their website HERE.
