The rainbow Pride flag was first flown
On this day · 25 June 1978
On June 25, 1978, Gilbert Baker's hand-dyed eight-stripe banner rose over a San Francisco parade and never came down.
On June 25, 1978, two enormous hand-stitched flags rose over San Francisco’s United Nations Plaza for the Gay Freedom Day Parade. Artist Gilbert Baker, urged on by activist and supervisor Harvey Milk, had designed them with a team of volunteers as a positive emblem for a movement that lacked one.
Baker’s original carried eight colors, each with a meaning: pink for sexuality, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for art, indigo for serenity, and violet for spirit.
He saw the rainbow as a flag from the sky, something no one could claim or copyright.
Production soon forced changes—hot pink fabric was hard to find, and turquoise was dropped for symmetry—leaving the six-stripe version recognized worldwide today. Baker never trademarked his design, letting it spread freely. Decades on, it remains one of the most widely flown symbols ever created.
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