The History of the Rainbow Flag and Its Connection to LGBTQ+ Pride
Updated: Jul. 09, 2024
Brush up on the history of the rainbow flag and how it became a universally recognized symbol for LGBTQ+ pride
In June, you might notice an increasing number of rainbow flags around town. It’s Pride Month in the United States, which means this multicolored symbol is more prevalent than usual. But what’s the history of the rainbow flag, and how did the rainbow come to be associated with LGBTQ+ rights in the first place?
To find out, Reader’s Digest connected with Nico Ramsey, a social activist in Austin, Texas, and Peter Tatchell, a veteran LGBTQ+ equality and human rights campaigner. With their help, we’re sharing details about the rainbow flag’s history and why it’s an emblem of the queer community. Sure, you could spend Pride Month simply sharing LGBTQ+ quotes, but to truly appreciate the holiday, it helps to know its history—and that includes the origins of the rainbow flag.
In fact, though the rainbow flag is perhaps the most well-recognized, it’s just one of many. There are over 30 different LGBTQIA+ Pride flags representing a diverse array of genders, sexualities, non-genders and identities. So celebrate Pride by reading books chosen by queer authors and supporting LGBTQ-owned businesses—all while digging in to the fascinating history of the rainbow flag.Â
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About the experts
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How did the rainbow flag become a symbol for the LGBTQ+ community?
The history of the rainbow flag for Pride started with a single parade. In 1978, Harvey Milk, a San Francisco city supervisor and the first openly gay politician elected to office in California, asked his friend Gilbert Baker to create a symbol for the LGBTQ+ community. Milk wanted to reveal the new design at the Gay Freedom Pride Parade in San Francisco that year.
Baker, a gay rights activist, army veteran and artist, immediately got to work designing a striped flag with eight colors. According to Baker’s website, each color on the flag had a special meaning: Pink stood for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for magic, blue for serenity and violet for spirit. Thirty volunteers hand-dyed and stitched the original two flags.
That said, no one knows exactly why Baker chose to make the symbol a rainbow. Some say he was paying tribute to Judy Garland, one of the first gay icons, who famously sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in the movie The Wizard of Oz. Others believe that Baker was inspired by a multicolored flag used on college campuses in the 1960s to symbolize world peace and unity.
How was the rainbow flag introduced for Pride?
Regardless of their original inspiration, the rainbow flags were a huge success when Baker unveiled them at the 1978 San Francisco Pride Parade. “We stood there and watched and saw the flags, and their faces lit up,” Cleve Jones, an LGBTQ+ rights activist who attended the parade, told the New York Times. “It needed no explanation. People knew immediately that it was our flag.”
The symbol’s popularity soared after Milk’s assassination just a few months later. Many saw the rainbow flag as “a beautiful, uplifting image that filled a need for a recognizable symbol for the LGBT community,” says Tatchell.
“I like to think [the rainbow flag] spread because, for the first time, gays were being told to be proud,” says Ramsey. “When I look at the flag, I see various elements of me. I have never viewed myself to be simple. I recognize that I am complex, and that is what makes me unique and beautiful.”
As demand for the flag increased, its original eight colors were narrowed down to six: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Fewer colors kept production costs low and made the flags easier to display.
Today, “the rainbow flag has become one of the most ubiquitous and universally recognized flags in the world,” Tatchell says. “Unlike other flags, it transcends national borders and unites people of different cultures. It symbolizes the global LGBTQ+ family and our worldwide freedom struggle.”
In addition to the iconic Pride flag, many other versions of the flag—with different color combinations and symbols—have been created to honor different orientations of the LGBTQIA+ community. You can find flags that celebrate those who identify as asexual, gender-fluid, bisexual, nonbinary and more.
Was the rainbow flag a symbol of solidarity during landmark movements?
Throughout Pride flag history, the rainbow flag has continued to unite people of the LGBTQ+ community and serve as a symbol of solidarity. In 1994, during New York’s Gay Pride celebration, over 10,000 people carried a mile-long rainbow flag through the streets of Manhattan. They were honoring the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots of 1969.
The Pride flag was displayed around the country again on June 26, 2015, when same-sex couples were given the right to marry in all 50 states. Iconic buildings such as the Empire State Building, One World Trade Center, state buildings around the country and the White House were illuminated by the colors of the rainbow to celebrate the huge victory for the LGBTQ+ community.
But displaying the flag isn’t the only way members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies celebrate unity and pride. As Tactchell points out, you can find the rainbow symbol on everything from T-shirts and mugs to towels and bedsheets these days.
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At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. For this story on the history of the rainbow flag, we spoke with social activist Nico Ramsey and veteran LGBTQ+ equality and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies. Â
Sources:
- Nico Ramsey, a social activist based in Austin, Texas, who serves on the board of governors for the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization, the Human Rights Campaign
- Peter Tatchell, a human rights campaigner, commonly known for his work with LGBTQ+ social movements, who has been campaigning for equality since the 1960s
- Gilbert Baker Foundation: “1978. The original 8 color flag”
- The New York Times: “Gilbert Baker, Gay Activist Who Created the Rainbow Flag, Dies at 65”
Originally Published: June 24, 2020
