In one of his last interviews, Baker stated, “we needed something to express our joy, our beauty, our power. This spurred increased demand for the rainbow symbol and the start of something new. After Milk’s death later that year, many took to the streets with their rainbow flags, led by the Gay Freedom Committee. These first flags were raised in the United Nations Plaza in San Francisco on June 25, 1978. The collaborative flag-making was important to Baker, as it demonstrated a genuine connection to each other and the community. Baker, then 27, along with about thirty volunteers fundraised and gathered thousands of cotton yards, and mixed water with natural dyes and salt. The first Pride flags were created at the Gay Community Centre in San Francisco (SF). The riots sparked a decades-long liberation movement that accomplished a wide array of legal rights and acceptance for LGBTQ+ individuals worldwide. Stonewall is widely regarded as the first ever Pride event. The Stonewall riots of 1969 were a series of riots in response to police raids that specifically targeted gay communities. The 1970s were a markedly rebellious and productive time for gay rights activism. to design a symbol for “the dawn of a new gay consciousness and freedom.” Baker was also asked by his friend Arthur Bressan, Jr. Before his assassination in 1978, Milk led a positive civil rights-focused campaign, and challenged Baker to create a positive pride symbol of hope. Milk was an American politician, remembered for his activism and for being the first openly gay elected official in California. For Baker and others, there was an urgent need for a positive symbol amongst the gay community-something to celebrate love.īaker met Milk in 1974. Though reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ community, the symbol was effectively an oppressive device carrying an incredibly negative and traumatic history. The triangle was created in Nazi Germany to identify and stigmatize homosexuals who were seen as a threat during World War II. He deliberately wanted it to be a free symbol for all, with unlimited use.īefore the Pride flag’s creation, the pink triangle was the main gay movement symbol. In 2015, the flag joined MoMA’s permanent design collection as a “politically powerful and aesthetically effective symbol.” Despite the worldwide acclaim, Baker never filed for any trademark or copyright protection associated with the flag. Today, the rainbow flag is an established symbol-so much so that it is recognized by a prominent art institution, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). I thought a gay nation should have a flag too, to proclaim its own idea of power.” The political activism of Baker’s close friend, Harvey Milk, further inspired him to develop a visible proclamation of pride. According to Baker, “I thought of the vertical red, white, and blue tricolor from the French Revolution and how both flags owed their beginnings to a riot, a rebellion, or revolution. The design was inspired by the American flag and the history of the nation. The rainbow flag was designed by the late Gilbert Baker, an American artist and activist (1951-2017). The colourful Pride flag is a widely recognized LGBTQ+ symbol. Natalie Bravo is an IPilogue Writer and a 2L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. Photo Credit: The Creative Exchange on Unsplash.
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