Gilbert Baker - Nominee

“The rainbow is a part of nature, and you have to be in the right place to see it. It's beautiful, all of the colors, even the colors you can't see. That really fit us as a people because we are all of the colors. Our sexuality is all of the colors. We are all the genders, races, and ages.”

– Gilbert Baker

In 1978, a very outspoken 27-year-old Gilbert Baker and a collective of fellow activists created the LGBTQ+ Rainbow Pride Flag and as a result transformed public messaging around the queer/trans community. Baker’s reason for creating the Pride Flag was to replace the Pink Triangle that had been used by the Nazi’s to identify gay/bisexual men and non-conforming people with something more positive and inclusive. The original Pride Flag had eight colors—pink for sex/love, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for art/magic, indigo for serenity and purple for spirit. Over time the turquois and indigo were combined into royal blue and pink were removed from the flag because that dye was too expensive. Baker, who called himself the gay Betsy Ross, never trademarked the Pride Flag calling it his gift to the world. The Kansas born and raised Baker was drafted into the U.S. Army after a year spent at college and was stationed in San Francisco as a medic from 1970-1972. This was at the beginning of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement in America. Among Baker’s many activist efforts in the ensuing years were the first cannabis legalization efforts in California. He also learned to sew from fellow activist Mary Dunn and created banners for LGBTQ+ and anti-war protest marches. Baker also became friends with Harvey Milk and joined the non-profit Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence gay drag activist group but left the group when he realized the right wing was using them to fundraise against the LGBTQ+ community. He worked at the Paramount Flag Company in San Francisco designing displays for then San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein, a number of world leaders, civic events including the city’s Pride Parade and the 1984 DNC convention. Baker relocated to New York City in 1994 and lived there until his death in 2017 due to hypertensive and Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. He will be forever remembered as the person who transformed rainbows into a liberation and equality symbol for the LGBTQ+ community.