American Artist and LGBT Activist. Best known as the designer of the rainbow flag, Baker's creation was originally hand-dyed and stitched together with the help of a small group of volunteers and first flown during the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. The flag was created with the goal of uniting the San Francisco community with one powerful and inclusive symbol. The flag has since become a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride around the world. The flag's design reflected Baker's admiration for the universality of the rainbow as a "natural flag in the sky" as well as his inspiration from the 1976 American Bicentennial celebration. In 1994, Baker created a record-breaking mile-long rainbow flag for the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City. His often quoted philosophy was that: "Our job as gay people was to come out, to be visible, to live in the truth as I say, to get out of the lie. A flag really fit that mission, because that’s a way of proclaiming your visibility, or saying, "This is who I am!" He often referred to himself as the "Gay Betsy Ross."
American Artist and LGBT Activist. Best known as the designer of the rainbow flag, Baker's creation was originally hand-dyed and stitched together with the help of a small group of volunteers and first flown during the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. The flag was created with the goal of uniting the San Francisco community with one powerful and inclusive symbol. The flag has since become a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride around the world. The flag's design reflected Baker's admiration for the universality of the rainbow as a "natural flag in the sky" as well as his inspiration from the 1976 American Bicentennial celebration. In 1994, Baker created a record-breaking mile-long rainbow flag for the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City. His often quoted philosophy was that: "Our job as gay people was to come out, to be visible, to live in the truth as I say, to get out of the lie. A flag really fit that mission, because that’s a way of proclaiming your visibility, or saying, "This is who I am!" He often referred to himself as the "Gay Betsy Ross."
Bio by: Samuel Taylor Geer
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