Wednesday 18 June 2014

Buzz Feed: The Story Behind The Rainbow Flag

The colorful flag is used as a symbol of the LGBT community in nearly every corner of the globe, but it all started in San Francisco, CA. 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/skarlan/the-story-behind-the-rainbow-flag
posted on June 25, 2013, at 10:32 p.m. by Sarah Karlan

The rainbow flag is an iconic symbol for the LGBT community:


Keith Tsuji / Getty Images

It’s easily recognized in nearly every corner of the globe:




Jessica Rinaldi / Reuters


Keith Tsuji

Who can we thank for this colorful symbol of unity and pride?


gilbertbaker.com

You can thank Gilbert Baker:


After teaching himself to sew, he created banners for gay-rights marches and rallies while living in San Francisco during the ’70s. In 1979 he began work at Paramount Flag Company. Baker was commissioned by the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade in response to a need for a symbol that could be used over and over.



Gilbert’s original rainbow flag had eight stripes:


gilbertbaker.com

Each color with it’s own meaning:


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Baker said of his design:


John Walker/Fresno Bee / MCT

Pink had to be dropped because, at the time, it was difficult to find for mass production.


Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Indigo would later be removed so that the flag would have an even number of stripes:


seattlepi.com, Joshua Trujillo / AP

The first time the rainbow flag was used publicly was in 1978, at the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day Parade:

Baker and thirty volunteers hand-stitched and hand-dyed two huge flags for the parade. After the assassination of openly gay Supervisor Harvey Milk in November of that year, demand for the rainbow flags skyrocketed.


The Associated Press / AP

Before the rainbow flag was created, the most widely used symbol was the pink triangle:


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The symbol was originally used by the Nazis in concentration camps to identify gay prisoners:


pinktriangleproject.com

In 1988, the rainbow flag came gained national attention in the U.S. after a man named John Stout sued his landlord for not allowing him to display the flag from his West Hollywood apartment.

He won the case. Stout said afterwords, “This means I can continue with my life style; that I can express myself freely whenever I want to.”


Mario Tama / Getty Images

Gilerbt Baker famously said of his creation:


Mike Hollar / Getty Images

Listen to Gilbert discuss his rainbow flag:

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