Story behind the Rainbow Flag
The rainbow flag, commonly known as the gay pride flag or LGBT pride flag, is a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride and LGBT social movements. The colors reflect the diversity of the LGBT community.
The flag was originally devised by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker, an openly gay activist born in 1951. Baker grew up in Parsons, Kansas, and went on to serve in the US army for about two years around 1970. After an honorable discharge, Gilbert taught himself to sew. In 1974, Baker met Harvey Milk, an influential gay leader, who three years later challenged Baker to come up with a symbol of pride for the gay community.
It has been suggested that Baker may have been inspired by Judy Garland‘s singing “Over the Rainbow” and the Stonewall riots that happened a few days after Garland’s death (she was one of the first gay icons).
The original gay pride flag flew at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade celebration on June 25, 1978. But it was not until 1994 that the rainbow flag was truly established as the symbol for LGBT pride. That year Baker made a mile-long version for the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Now the rainbow flag is an international symbol for LGBT pride and can be seen flying proudly, during both the promising times and the difficult ones, all around the world.
Join us for Minden’s rainbow flag raising on Monday, August 19th, 10 am at the Minden Hills Municipal Office followed by a reception across the street at Up River Trading.