While the emerging gay rights movement used various symbols to represent the cause, such as the Greek letter Lambda, the pink triangle, or the labrys, there was little consensus on a symbol that could broadly and inclusively represent the multiple factions of the movement. The pride flag was designed as a symbol of LGBTQ equality by Gilbert Baker, a gay Vietnam veteran and drag performer who settled in San Francisco, California, following his honorable discharge from the military in 1972.
The attack calls to mind the history of the Pride flag, what it was created to represent, and the activists who gave their time, energy, creativity, and sometimes their very lives, to make America a more liveable place for LGBTQ people.
This act of aggression against the Pride flag, and the community it represents, is but one example of the acts of intolerance and hate that have swept the nation since the election of Donald J. Representative Lowenthal’s tweet the day following the incident.
