Gilbert Baker, who described himself as the “gay Betsy Ross,” created the first Pride flag from strips of fabric dyed in trash cans in the attic of San Francisco’s Gay Community Center before the city’s 1978 Pride parade. Each of the original flag’s eight colors had a meaning: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sun, green for nature, turquoise for magic, blue for peace and purple for spirit.
