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Save Our Rainbows, Save Our Pride Flags !

Don't Let Philz Coffee CEO Erase Pride: SEND A MESSAGE.

Our rainbows and Pride flags are being stolen from us — in schools, workplaces, statehouses, municipal buildings, federal property, military bases and crosswalks. It’s outrageous.

And the latest example this week: Philz Coffee, based in San Francisco of all places.

On April 9th, Philz Coffee CEO Mahesh Sadarangani dictated Pride flags be removed from all store locations nationwide as part of an effort to create a "more streamlined aesthetic" and maintain a “welcoming environment” for all customers.

The Human Rights Campaign is fighting to make schools, workplaces, and public spaces safe and inclusive for LGBTQ+ people. And we are empowering customers, employees and members of the public to fight back, too, because removing rainbows and Pride flags doesn’t make a space more welcoming — it makes it less safe.

And when businesses that once stood with our community go silent, it sends a chilling message: that our visibility is negotiable, that our safety is a branding choice, that corporate interests matter more than civil rights.

It’s not just an attack on our community and their employees, it’s a terrible business decision. For more than two decades, HRC has been a highly trusted and respected partner to major employers across industries, including through our Corporate Equality Index and broader workplace inclusion initiatives, to help navigate precisely these kinds of moments. One lesson has remained constant: creating environments that are safe, welcoming, and respectful for all is not only the right thing to do, it is essential to long-term growth of companies like Philz.

Philz employees have already spoken out. Over two thousand have signed a petition expressing how this decision has left them feeling "confounded and unsupported." Now the Human Rights Campaign is mobilizing our members, allies, and the broader public to speak out, too.

This issue is about more than flags and crosswalks. This is about whether LGBTQ+ Americans can expect businesses to stand with us when it matters most — or whether our rights and dignity will be sacrificed for corporate convenience. Please take action with us today and sign the petition below!

CEO

Mahesh

Sadarangani

Philz Coffee

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To Philz Coffee CEO Mr. Sadarangani,

On behalf of the Human Rights Campaign’s more than 3.6 million members and supporters, we demand that you immediately reverse your decision to remove Pride flags from Philz Coffee shops. This decision is wrong. It is harmful. And it must be reversed.

You claim that "everyone who walks through our doors deserves to feel welcome and safe" — but for LGBTQ+ people, Pride flags are how we know we're safe. Removing them doesn't create neutrality. It creates erasure. In this moment, when LGBTQ+ rights are under relentless attack across the country, silence from businesses that claim to support us is not neutrality. It is complicity.

Your employees have told you this decision hurts them. Your LGBTQ+ customers and allies are telling you the same thing. And now the Human Rights Campaign and our members and supporters are telling you: this decision is unacceptable.

Reinstate the Pride flags in every Philz Coffee location. Show us that the values you claim to hold aren't negotiable. Show LGBTQ+ employees and customers that we still have a place at Philz — that our visibility matters, that our safety matters, that our dignity is not up for debate. You have an opportunity to lead with courage and integrity. We expect action, not excuses.

Respectfully and urgently,

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