--- title: Rainbow-Flag Anniversary as Supreme Court Rules on Same-Sex Marriage description: A history of the LGBT symbol as it celebrates its anniversary the same week the Supreme Court is expected to rule on same-sex marriage canonical: https://time.com/3932733/rainbow-flag-lgbt-pride-same-sex-marriage/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-25T11:00:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:23:09.838Z article:section: History og:title: How the Rainbow Flag Became an LGBT Icon og:description: It's a symbol of rights, acceptance and pride. og:url: https://time.com/3932733/rainbow-flag-lgbt-pride-same-sex-marriage/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb7f116c9afdcd3e/6986a1c113c79f4da8193b02/lgbt-gay-college-school.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3562 og:image:height: 2004 og:image:alt: US-GAY RIGHTS-RALLY og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How the Rainbow Flag Became an LGBT Icon twitter:description: It's a symbol of rights, acceptance and pride. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb7f116c9afdcd3e/6986a1c113c79f4da8193b02/lgbt-gay-college-school.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 01:31 video:published: 2015-06-24 section: history topics: rainbow flag, LGBT symbolism, San Francisco gay rights, Gilbert Baker, Harvey Milk, Pride parades, flag design, color meanings genre: explainer, documentary tones: informative, celebratory, reflective emotions: pride (medium), hope (low), nostalgia (low) sentiment: positive audience: LGBT community members, history enthusiasts, general viewers, students people: Gilbert Baker, Harvey Milk organizations: San Francisco Gay and Pride Parade, U.S. Army products: rainbow flag transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # How the Rainbow Flag Became an Icon of LGBT Rights > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=092c6742-ef61-495d-8643-81797dacf02e&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=092c6742-ef61-495d-8643-81797dacf02e&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) ## Video: This is The History of the Rainbow Flag [Watch (HLS stream): This is The History of the Rainbow Flag](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bnTiT5cr.m3u8) (1:31)  _Published 2015-06-24. How the rainbow flag became an icon of LGBT rights_ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary The video traces the history of the rainbow flag as a symbol of the LGBT community, beginning with its origins in San Francisco. It credits Gilbert Baker, who moved to the city as an Army draftee, became involved with Harvey Milk and the gay rights movement, and was commissioned by the San Francisco Gay and Pride Parade to design a lasting symbol. The video explains what each color of the original flag represents and how the flag later changed to six stripes. ## Key points - The rainbow flag is a worldwide symbol of the LGBT community, and its birthplace is San Francisco. (00:04) - Gilbert Baker created the rainbow flag, and he moved to San Francisco as an Army draftee in 1970. (00:12) - In San Francisco, Baker became acquainted with Harvey Milk and the gay rights movement. (00:18) - After sewing many banners for gay events and marches, Baker was commissioned by the San Francisco Gay and Pride Parade to design a symbol. (00:26) - Baker said the rainbow fit people because all of the colors represent the range of sexualities, genders, races and ages. (00:44) - Each color represents something: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature. (00:54) - Turquoise, indigo and violet also carried meanings, including art, harmony and the human spirit. (01:04) - The flag later evolved to six stripes, with turquoise swapped for blue and pink and indigo removed. (01:12) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:26] Origins of the rainbow flag in San Francisco. The video introduces the flag's San Francisco birthplace and Gilbert Baker's background, including his connection to Harvey Milk. - [00:26 to 00:54] Baker's design and the rainbow as a metaphor. Baker is commissioned to create a symbol and explains why the rainbow reflects the community's diversity. - [00:54 to 01:31] Color meanings and later changes. The video explains what each color represents and how the flag was modified into its six-stripe form. ## Key quotes - [00:44] Gilbert Baker: "So that really fit us as a people because we are all of the colors." - [00:50] Gilbert Baker: "Our sexuality is all of the colors, where all the genders, races and ages." ## Questions this video answers - Where was the rainbow flag born? [00:04] - Who created the rainbow flag? [00:12] - What does each color of the rainbow flag represent? [00:54] - How did the rainbow flag change over time? [01:12] - Why did the rainbow become a symbol for the LGBT community? [00:44]  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Jun 25, 2015 11:00 AM UTC How the rainbow flag became an icon of LGBT rights  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Jun 25, 2015 11:00 AM UTC While the nation awaits a Supreme Court ruling that could establish same-sex marriage as a constitutional right, the rainbow flag — a symbol for LGBT rights, acceptance and pride — is celebrating its anniversary. The [_Obergefell_](http://time.com/3839384/supreme-court-jim-obergefell/) _v. Hodges_ ruling itself could fall within days of the flag’s exact birthday: June 25 marks the anniversary of the flag’s first appearance, flying over San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day Parade in 1978. [Gilbert Baker](http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/06/26/meet-gilbert-baker-the-man-who-invented-the-gay-pride-rainbow-flag/), who designed the original rainbow flag in 1978, tells TIME that the possibility of the ruling coinciding with the flag’s birthday is “a little wild.” With Pride Week already under way in New York City as well as the Museum of Modern Art [announcing](http://www.moma.org/explore/inside%5Fout/2015/06/17/moma-acquires-the-rainbow-flag/) its acquisition of Baker’s design last week, the rainbow flag is already having a busy month_._ It’s come a long way from the moment 37 years ago when Harvey Milk, the openly gay San Francisco city-county supervisor who would be assassinated just months later, asked Baker to create flags for the city’s parade. The nascent gay-rights movement had no symbol apart from the pink triangle — and few wanted to rally around a Nazi concentration camp badge. Baker says he got the job as he happened to be extremely proficient in sewing, being a drag performer who couldn’t afford to buy the clothes he wanted to wear. He worked with a team of 30 to dye and stitch together the strips of fabric to create the flag in the attic of San Francisco’s Gay Community Center. Making it in the colors of the rainbow, Baker says, was the obvious choice. “We needed something that expressed us. The rainbow really fits that, in terms of: we’re all the colors, and all the genders and all the races,” he says. “It’s a natural flag; the rainbow is in the sky and it’s beautiful. It’s a magical part of nature.” The two original flags had eight stripes each, with hot pink, red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, indigo and violet descending from the top. Baker conceived meanings for each color; for example, orange represented healing and hot pink represented sexuality. He then took a job at Paramount Flag Co. in San Francisco, where he convinced the factory to produce the flags on a wider scale. Parade goers continued to fly the flag in the San Francisco gay-pride parade each year, and it soon became a [symbol for the event](http://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/11/style/new-rituals-ease-grief-as-aids-toll-increases.html). As supporters hung and draped the flags across the city and created a demand, the design lost the hot pink and turquoise colors for practical production reasons. In 1988, when a man [took his landlords to court](http://articles.latimes.com/1988-12-21/local/me-648%5F1%5Fgay-pride) over the right to hang the flag in West Hollywood, the design gained more prominence outside the Bay area. Over time, the flag became a global icon. The design has proved versatile; people have incorporated the rainbow into variations of different country and state flags, such as Texas, Canada and South Africa. Baker led the creation of massive, mile-long versions of the flag in 1994 and 2003; first, for the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, and then for the flag’s 25th anniversary. The design has even been adopted as the official flag for the micronation of the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands, a small group of islands unofficially declared a republic in 2004 by a group of Australian activists protesting for marriage equality. The flag’s international reach has given Baker a perspective on the global nature of the gay-rights struggle, he says. “In most of the world, it’s still not cool to be gay. You can be murdered in these places. You can be thrown in jail. Being gay in San Francisco is fun. Being gay in Saudi Arabia — that’s a whole other matter.” In June, MoMA acquired the flag as a symbol and work of art. Baker says he had offered the gallery the two original flags from 1978, but ended up giving the museum a flag in the ubiquitous, six-colored style, that he created especially for the collection. “MoMA I think is really interested in the power, the symbol and how that’s really taken hold,” Baker says. “Not just in flags, but in all kinds of ways. When the Supreme Court \[ruling\] comes down in the next couple of days, every single newscast is going to have a rainbow flag on it.” As for the imminent Supreme Court ruling itself, Baker says it’s “terrific” that same-sex marriage could be deemed a constitutional right in the U.S., but that it would underscore the work still to be done around the world. “It’s not the end of the struggle; in fact, it’s really just beginning,” Baker says. “And there’s so much more to do.” ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [00:04] The rainbow flag is a worldwide symbol of the LGBT [00:08] community, but it's birthplace is in San Francisco and [00:12] it's creation is thanks to a man named Gilbert Baker. [00:15] Baker moved to San Francisco as an Army draftee in [00:18] 1970. It was there that he became acquainted with [00:21] Harvey Milk and they gay rights movement. Gay rights [00:23] now. [00:26] After sewing many banners for gay events and [00:29] marches, the San Francisco Gay and **** Pride Parade [00:32] commissioned him to design a symbol that could be [00:34] used for years to come. And this is what Baker came [00:37] up with the original rainbow flag. The rainbow is a [00:41] beautiful part of nature. All of the colors and even the [00:44] colors you can't see. So that really fit us as a people [00:48] because we are all of the colors. Our sexuality is all of [00:50] the colors, where all the genders, races and ages. [00:54] Each color represents something different Pink for sex, [00:59] red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, [01:04] green for nature, turquoise for art, indigo for [01:08] harmony, and violet for the human spirit. The flag [01:12] later evolved to have six stripes. Turquoise was [01:15] swapped for blue and pink and indigo were taken out. [01:19] And decades later, the flag can still be seen linked [01:22] proudly from nearly every pride parade and march [01:25] around the world. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3932733/rainbow-flag-lgbt-pride-same-sex-marriage/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3932733/rainbow-flag-lgbt-pride-same-sex-marriage/"},"headline":"How the Rainbow Flag Became an Icon of LGBT Rights","datePublished":"2015-06-25T11:00:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-05T08:23:09.838Z","description":"The colorful symbol celebrates its anniversary the same week Supreme Court is expected to rule on same-sex marriage","url":"https://time.com/3932733/rainbow-flag-lgbt-pride-same-sex-marriage/","keywords":["LGBT"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb7f116c9afdcd3e/6986a1c113c79f4da8193b02/lgbt-gay-college-school.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb7f116c9afdcd3e/6986a1c113c79f4da8193b02/lgbt-gay-college-school.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-GAY RIGHTS-RALLY","caption":"US-GAY RIGHTS-RALLY","creditText":"Paul J. 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