These colors represent important ideas connected to this flag and community.
History
Gilbert Baker's 2017 rainbow flag represents the final evolution of his iconic 1978 pride flag design. Created in the year before his death in 2018, Baker added a ninth lavender stripe to the original eight-stripe rainbow as a symbol for diversity and inclusion within the LGBTQ+ community. The addition of lavender was intentional and deliberate—Baker sought to reconnect the flag to historical lavender symbolism that predated his original 1978 design, referencing the longstanding association between the color and queer identity that existed in earlier decades. This final iteration served as Baker's artistic statement on the continued evolution and expansion of pride representation, acknowledging that the movement and community it represented had grown beyond the original spectrum.
