This was our new revolution: a tribal, individualistic, and collective vision. ‘As a community, both local and international, gay people were in the midst of an upheaval, a battle for equal rights, a shift in status where we were now demanding power, taking it. Recalling the moment he came up with the idea of a rainbow flag, Gilbert explains in his book Stitching A Rainbow: The colours of the flag each had a meaning assigned by Gilbert:

Originally designed by American artist and gay rights activist Gilbert Baker in 1978, the rainbow flag was originally made up of eight stripes. Artist Gilbert Baker with the original 8 stripe rainbow flag.