Did you know that the six-stripe rainbow pride flag was not the original pride flag? The first iteration of what is now recognized as the LGBTQ+ pride flag had eight stripes. It was designed by Gilbert Baker in 1978.
Baker was drafted by the U.S. Army in 1970. He viewed this as a way to escape his childhood home in Kansas. Though the army was hostile to gay men, he eventually found his place as an army nurse until his honorable discharge in 1972.
Having been stationed in San Francisco, Baker settled there after his time in the army. There, he joined the Gay Liberation Movement.
While volunteering at the Gay Community Center, Baker met activist Harvey Milk. When Milk became the first openly gay elected official in 1977, Baker and the other creatives of the Movement decided that the community needed a symbol.
He and his friends were given $1,000 to create this symbol. On Jun 25, 1978, they unveiled two 30-by-60 foot flags at the Gay Freedom Day Parade. Those first flags included eight stripes–pink, red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue and purple. The stripes represented sex, life, healing, sun, nature, magic, peace and spirit, respectively.
Baker knew that the flag was for everyone to claim, a symbol of peace and love that would belong to the commons. After Harvey Milk’s assassination later that year, he worked with a local flag manufacturer to ensure the 1979 Gay Freedom Day Parade would remain a vibrant symbol of persistence.
In June of 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, the Museum of Modern Art rushed to display one of the two original flags, creating an impromptu installation to celebrate.
Gilbert Baker passed on Mar 31, 2017. Shortly before his death, he had finished crafting 39 rainbow flags with nine stripes for the 39th anniversary of the original rainbow flag. Baker’s last design included a lavender stripe for diversity.
To learn more about Gilbert Baker and the first pride flag, check out his memoir, "Rainbow Warrior: My Life In Color."
Sources:
Museum of Modern Art (Apr 05, 2017)- Remembering Gilbert Baker, designer of the Rainbow Flag
https://stories.moma.org/remembering-gilbert-baker-designer-of-the-rainbow-flag-94ea801be826
National Park Services (n.d.)- Gilbert Baker
https://www.nps.gov/people/gilbert-baker.htm
New York Times (Mar 31, 2017)- Gilbert Baker, Gay Activist Who Created the Rainbow Flag, Dies at 65
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/31/us/obituary-gilbert-baker-rainbow-flag.html
