Baker passed away in 2017 at the age of 65, and among his belongings was a portion of a rainbow flag.
It would not be discovered until 2019, when Koskovich says that Charles Beal, president of the Gilbert Baker Foundation, contacted Baker’s sister looking for materials from his estate that could be carried at the Stonewall 50 Parade. It makes sense that nobody paid any particular attention to it.”īut as the rainbow flag grew in importance as a symbol for the LGBTQ+ community throughout the 1980s and 90s, the fragment saved by Baker was nowhere to be found. “It was just damaged leftover decorations from last year's parade. “In 1979, that remnant wasn’t a precious remnant of the founding object that created an internationally recognized symbol for the LGBT community,” he says. It was originally stored at the San Francisco Gay Community Center before being damaged by mildew, owing to the building’s leaky roof.Īs Koskovich explains, Baker “simply chopped off the part that was ruined, threw it away, and kept the remaining piece that was still fresh and lovely looking.” The other, which will be on display through the GLBT Historical Society for the remainder of the year, mysteriously vanished. Of the two original Pride flags designed by Baker, one was stolen following the 1979 parade: an eight-stripe design with a square in the upper-left-hand corner containing tie-dyed stars, closely resembling the American flag.
