With help from volunteers, Baker filled eight metal trash cans with natural dyes and organic cotton in the attic of the Gay Community Center in San Francisco and used his sewing machine to stitch together the first two flags that flew in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade on June 25, 1978.Īfter the assassination of Milk in November 1978, demand for the rainbow flag greatly increased. The first pride flag was comprised of eight colorful stripes representing diversity: hot pink (sexuality), red (life), orange (healing), yellow (sun), green (nature), blue (art), indigo (harmony) and violet (human spirit). He wanted it to be beautiful, unique and an undeniable representation of the LGBTQ community. After serving a short two-year term, he was honorably discharged and settled into the thriving activist community of San Francisco.īaker got to work designing a symbol for the gay liberation movement in 1978. Baker was stationed in San Francisco just as the gay liberation movement was beginning to take shape. After graduating from high school, Baker attended college for a year before the Army drafted him. Baker had an outgoing and friendly personality as a child but felt ostracized because of his gay identity. His parents were prominent community citizens his mother was an educator and his father served as a judge and lawyer. Gilbert Baker was born on Jin the tiny rural town of Chanute, Kansas. He died on March 31, 2017, at the age of 65. Baker’s artistic work helped define and solidify the LGBTQ movement. A skilled vexillographer (flag maker), his work spanned 30 years and broke two world records.
Self-described as the “gay Betsy Ross,” Gilbert Baker was an American artist, LGBTQ rights activist and the creator of the rainbow flag. Gilbert Baker is an artist and LGBTQ rights activist who created the rainbow flag.