Hot pink was removed from the original pride flag because fabric and dye in that color was difficult to find. The original LGBT pride flag contained the colors hot pink, meant to represent sexuality, and turquoise, meant to represent magic or art, depending on the source. “It’s a natural flag” Baker stated, “It comes from the sky”. Baker stated, however, that the idea of a rainbow pride flag did not stem from Garland’s singing of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.Īccording to Baker, “It’s a natural flag. A strong supporter of the gay community, gay men were occasionally called “friends of Dorothy”, in reference to her role in The Wizard of Oz. Some historians have argued that the idea of the rainbow flag came about because of the rainbow’s link to actress Judy Garland. The flag was first flown in San Francisco’s United Nation’s Plaza in June of 1978. Something from us.” Harvey Milk being sworn into office. Despite the Pink Triangle’s prevalence, Baker argued that there was a need for a new symbol “We needed something beautiful. The Pink Triangle was used in Nazis concentration camps to identify men imprisoned for their homosexuality. Several communities at the time had reclaimed the Pink Triangle as a symbol of queer power.
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“Flags are about proclaiming power” Baker said.īaker was inspired by the United States flag, with its series of stacked lines, and also by Pop Art of the time. He was approached by Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person elected to public office in California, in 1977 to create a symbol of pride for the community. The history of the rainbow flag is a rich, fascinating, and very recent one!Īrtist and activist Gilbert Baker is credited with creating the first pride flag, meant to represent the gay community. Using color to establish meaning, Baker conceived a flag that would empower his “tribe” and a “rainbow of humanity” motif to represent the community’s diversity.Kua, Benson. In 1978, while preparing for that year’s Gay Freedom Day celebration, City Supervisor Harvey Milk (1930–1978) and other local activists appealed to Baker, the co-chair of the Decorations Committee, to create a new symbol for the LGBTQ community to be unveiled at the event in June.
He quickly became well known for his sewing skills and flamboyant creations, such as drag costumes and political banners for street demonstrations. Gilbert Baker arrived in San Francisco in 1972 during the early years of the Gay Liberation movement. Thought to have been lost for over 40 years, the fragment, shown in the banner above, was recently rediscovered and is the only known surviving remnant of the two inaugural rainbow flags. In April 2021, the GLBT Historical Society received an archival donation of an extraordinary, unique piece of history that we are unveiling during the Pride season: a fragment of one of the two monumental rainbow flags first raised on Jin San Francisco’s United Nations Plaza at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.ĭisplaying the original design’s eight colored stripes, it was created by Gilbert Baker and hand-stitched and dyed with the help of volunteers and friends, including Lynn Segerblom (Faerie Argyle Rainbow), James McNamara, Glenne McElhinney, Joe Duran and Paul Langlotz.