The first Rainbow Flag was designed in 1978 by Gilbert Baker, a San Francisco artist, in response to a local activist’s call for a community symbol. Baker designed a flag with eight stripes, sewing the material for the first flag himself. Many believe that this was in the spirit of Betsy Ross the seamstress who stitched the first American flag.
The design is believed to have been influenced by flags with multicolored stripes flown by other left-leaning organizations in the San Francisco area during the 1960s ("Free Love, Black Civil Rights etc.) Use of the rainbow flag by the LGBT community began in 1978 when it first appeared in the San Francisco Freedom Day Parade. Soon it was the international symbol of choice to indicate LGBT-friendly establishments and community pride. In 1978, Baker amended the flag reducing the design to six stripes representing the colors of the rainbow. These included red for light, orange for healing, yellow for the Sun, green for the calm, blue for art, and lilac for spirit.
Flag Measures 36 in x 60 in and is 100% polyester with grommets for easy flying.
