And some of the flag companies we approached said, 'Jim, do you know what that flag is?' I go, 'Yeah, I'm keenly aware of what that flag is. It was at the San Francisco-based Paramount Flag Company, where Baker worked with flag scholar James Ferrigan, that the rainbow pride symbol spread beyond the city - not just as a specialty item, but something that could be as readily available as the Stars and Stripes.įerrigan: "It was astonishing to me how quickly the rainbow, which truly was a flag of pride and not politics, eclipsed all the others."įerrigan: "There were some hurdles. Gilbert worked there, and I had access to some of the largest flag companies in the world." James Ferrigan, vexillologist and former colleague of Gilbert Baker: "My little story in Polk Street was kind of the epicenter. Originally eight colors , the flag's stripes stood for sex, life, healing, sunlight, nature, magic, serenity and spirit.Īfter the parade - and months later, after the assassination of San Francisco politician and gay icon Harvey Milk - demand for the rainbow flag skyrocketed. The very first rainbow pride flag was designed and hand made by Baker and a group of volunteers for the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. He just suddenly thought, 'These things are powerful.' He saw armies marching into war under a flag and he thought: 'We don't just need a new symbol. So, how did we get here with the rainbow pride flag? Its history starts in the 1970s with artist and activist Gilbert Baker.īeal: "Gilbert had become fascinated with flags in 1976, during the Bicentennial.
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It is a global symbol."īut this flag wasn't always so ubiquitous, and its predecessors included a lavender rhinoceros, the Greek letter lambda and the pink triangle - all of which have their own separate meanings and histories, but weren't accepted by the LGBTQ community at large.
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It's one of the most recognizable symbols in the world, on par with the American flag or the recycling symbol, and especially during Pride Month, it's everywhere.Ĭharley Beal, president of the Gilbert Baker Foundation: "It is unsurpassed as a global icon in terms of something that stands for hope and diversity, as opposed to a product being sold or a country. You already know what this flag stands for.