Gilbert Baker

The rainbow flag is a symbol of freedom and liberation that we made for ourselves.

My parents and I didn't speak for 10 years. It took a long time to rebuild that relationship.

I decided that we should have a flag, that a flag fit us as a symbol, that we are a people, a tribe if you will. And flags are about proclaiming power, so it's very appropriate.

We needed something to express our joy, our beauty, our power. And the rainbow did that.

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.

A true flag is not something you can really design. A true flag is torn from the soul of the people. A flag is something that everyone owns, and that's why they work. The Rainbow Flag is like other flags in that sense: it belongs to the people.