SAN FRANCISCO -- Go to any Pride parade and you'll see them. The ubiquitous rainbow flag can be found hanging from business and homes, clutched in hands, wrapped around shoulders and even painted on faces.
To discover the roots of the rainbow flag, one needs to look no further than the story of the late Gilbert Baker. For this story, KPIX 5 turned to two of his best friends: former San Francisco Supervisor Jeff Sheehy and Charley Beal, an award-winning art director for film and television."He was gender queer before there was gender queer, with a full beard, makeup, skirts, and high heels," added Beal.
"He just threw down his gun and refused to carry it. They made him a corpsman. They wouldn't kick him out. They made him a corpsman. So he's a medic," Sheehy told KPIX 5.That's how Gilbert ended up in San Francisco. Once here, he came out of the closet and met gay activist Harvey Milk. In 1978, after Milk had been elected the first openly gay San Francisco Supervisor, he asked Gilbert to design a new symbol for the LGBTQ+ community.
"They created these two magnificent 30-foot by 60-foot rainbow flags that went up on June 25th at the United Nations Plaza in San Francisco and the rest is history." exclaimed Beal.In 2015, a year before Gilbert died, he presented one to President Obama. It was in thanks for lighting up the White House in Rainbow Colors when Gay Marriage was legalized by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Source: News Formal (newsformal.com)
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