It coincides with the launch of Stonewall Forever, a digital monument in partnership with the LGBT Community Center.

Today’s Google Doodle celebrates “50 years of Pride,” in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. It takes viewers through five decades of progress with a “growing, evolving, and international Pride parade.”

The video was made using strips of paper, Doodler Nate Swinehart shared in a statement. He credited his coworker, Cynthia Cheng, for coming up with the expanding parade concept.

Google

“While everything begins with shades of grey, we first see the rainbow through a community space. Color then begins to spread, first in individual people, then to the city around them, until it finally overtakes the entire composition,” said Swinehart.

“I also wanted the progression of color to be meaningful, beginning with the initial pink triangle that was reclaimed by the community as a symbol of liberation. From there, we go backwards through the rainbow from purple to red, until we see all the colors come together harmoniously in the final image.”

Google

He also noted that this project was personal to him.

“Before I joined Google in 2014, I remember opening up the Google homepage to see a Doodle celebrating the Winter Olympics, depicting the colors of the Pride flag. I was completely blown away. Looking at the front page of Google, I was filled with hope and a feeling of belonging. That moment was a large part of why I wanted to become a Doodler. I recognized the opportunity we have to make a positive impact on the world, and to help make people feel seen, heard, and valued.”

The project also had personal relevancy for Google Doodle Art Director Erich Nagler.

“When I was 18 years old, I went to college in New York City. Even as I was still finding my way out of the closet, I found myself on a walk through Greenwich Village, across Seventh Avenue where the street grid shifts and the streets get names instead of numbers. I passed Sheridan Square onto Christopher Street, the historic gay heart of the city. Here was the Stonewall Inn, the Lucille Loretta Theatre, the entrance to the PATH train, and the piers out into the Hudson River. Here was a neighborhood and a community where I could begin to love myself more and hate myself less, where I finally felt accepted, where I didn’t have to hide or pretend, where I could fully be me and find others like me,” he said.

“Over the past 50 years, that powerful spirit of pride has spread from Christopher Street to other streets and neighborhoods and communities, connecting people all around the world. That expanding spirit of love and acceptance is something we’ve hoped to capture in today’s Doodle.”

Google has also launched a project in partnership with the New York City LGBT Community Center to commemorate Stonewall as a digital monument, called Stonewall Forever.





