He quickly became well known for his sewing skills and flamboyant creations, such as drag costumes and political banners for street demonstrations. Thought to have been lost for over 40 years, the fragment is the only known surviving remnant of the two inaugural rainbow flags.īaker arrived in San Francisco in 1972 during the early years of the Gay Liberation movement. Displaying the original design’s eight colored stripes, it was created by Baker and hand-stitched and dyed with the help of volunteers and friends, including Lynn Segerblom (Faerie Argyle Rainbow), James McNamara, Glenne McElhinney, Joe Duran and Paul Langlotz.
In April, the GLBT Historical Society received an archival donation, a fragment of one of the two monumental rainbow flags. Heads up: LGBTQ definitions every good ally should know Gilbert Bakerīaker worked tirelessly to ensure that the rainbow flag would become a universally recognized, global emblem of the LGBTQ community and its proud legacy. Though in the recent years, members of the community have modified the flag with a chevron along the hoist that features black, brown, light blue, pink, and white to represent people of color and the transgender community. As a result, the six-stripe variant of the flag was born.
