Before the Rainbow was gay

Rainbow patterns were popular in fashion during the 1970s, before Gilbert Baker adapted the motif in 1978 for a rainbow flag to represent the diversity of the gay community. San Francisco’s first openly gay supervisor, Harvey Milk, used the flag as a symbol for that year’s Pride Parade (called Gay Freedom Day at the time). On November 27 1978, the assassination of Harvey Milk and mayor George Moscone propelled the flag into a symbol of the LGBT movement. Gilbert Baker passed away March 31, 2017 at his home in New York City, He was 65 years old.