LGBTQ History June P1

Event: The Rainbow Flag (1978)

Overview: Gilbert Baker lived in San Francisco in the 1970s where he met Harvey Milk. Milk challenged Baker to create some type of symbol of pride for the gay community.

Action: Identify the different symbols and flags of the LGBTQ community as well as other countries. Put the rainbow flag up in your classroom or on your backpack.

Quick Lesson Steps:

  • Questions to ask: Why are flags important in history? What are flags used for? What does the rainbow flag stand for and why is it important?

  • Show/Do:
    a) Tell a short story: Gilbert Baker lived in San Francisco in the 1970s where he met Harvey Milk. Milk challenged Baker to create some type of symbol of pride for the gay community. Baker wanted a symbol that did not drawn from the inverted pink triangle used by Nazis in WWII despite many people reclaiming it as a symbol of pride. Baker’s source of inspiration for the rainbow flag was the sky and natural rainbows which, like sexuality, is a spectrum. Originally, Baker’s design consisted of eight stripes instead of six, but later the stripes were reduced to 6 colors. 

    b) Show a short video about the creation of the flag: How The Pride Rainbow Flag Came To Be [Play until 5:02 min] 

  • Reflection Questions: What does the rainbow flag mean to you? What are the other flags used in the LGBTQ community?  Why do you think there are now many different flags for different LGBTQ communities?

Background:  

Gilbert Baker lived in San Francisco in the 1970s where he met Harvey Milk. Milk challenged Baker to create some type of symbol of pride for the gay community. Baker wanted a symbol that did not draw from the inverted pink triangle used by Nazis in WWII despite many people having reclaimed it as a symbol of pride. Baker’s source of inspiration for the rainbow flag was the sky and natural rainbows which, like sexuality, is a spectrum.

With $1000 and 1000 yards of fabric, Baker along with 30 volunteers, hand-dyed and stitched together the flag. It was first displayed in June 1978 and its popularity only grew.  

Originally, Baker’s design consisted of eight stripes instead of six, but later the stripes were reduced to 6 colors. The original eight colors, from top to bottom, were pink (sexuality), red (life), orange (healing), yellow (sunlight), green (nature), turquoise (magic), indigo (serenity), and violet (spirit). Part of the reason for this was the difficulty of producing pink cloth and then having to change turquoise and indigo into one stripe of blue in order to keep the flag’s symmetry.  

Resources:

Table of Contents

See more LGBTQ History Lessons here.