A crowd of 34,000 people turned out for the Boston Pride 1986 March. PRIDE ‘86 FORWARD TOGETHER! From The History Project Button Collection. Gilbert Baker, who designed the most internationally known symbol for the gay culture, the rainbow flag, 25 years ago, heads the Stockholm Pride Parade carrying a 250-metre long flag in Stockholm (FREDRIK PERSSON/AFP/Getty Images) Why the rainbow on the pride flag? Self-described as a “gay Betsy Ross,” activist Baker was one of the original Pride marchers in the US as well as a print designer. The designer who Milk asked was a gay man named Gilbert Baker.
Milk asked for a gay designer and activist to make the flag (Getty) Who designed THE RAINBOW SYMBOL? But as we grow that little bit more concerned about the rampant commercialisation of the rainbow symbol and its purpose, we want to answer a few pressing questions: where did the rainbow come from, and has it stood the test of time? How did the rainbow SYMBOL first come into existence?īefore he was assassinated later on in the year, gay politician Harvey Milk asked a talented gay designed her knew to design an all-encompassing symbol to take on San Francisco’s Pride March in 1978.
