United States rainbow flag creator, RIP

This 2010 video from the USA is called History of the Rainbow Flag with Creator Gilbert Baker.

By Nicole Chavez, CNN in the USA:

Rainbow flag creator Gilbert Baker dies at 65

April 1, 2017

Gilbert Baker, the designer of the iconic rainbow flag, has died.

In 1978, Baker sewed a multicolored flag that became the symbol of the LGBT community across the world.

Baker, 65, died Thursday in his sleep, said Cleve Jones, an AIDS activist and Baker’s longtime friend. He died in New York City, the medical examiner’s office there said.

A vigil in Baker’s memory was planned Friday evening under the rainbow flag in San Francisco’s United Nations Plaza. The banner could be seen flying half-staff from the balcony of Mayor Ed Lee.

“Gilbert was a trailblazer for LGBT rights, a powerful artist and a true friend to all who knew him. Our thoughts are with his friends and family. He will be missed,” Lee said in a statement.

Baker was born in Chanute, Kansas, and joined the US Army as a medic. He arrived in San Francisco about 1970 to work at an orthopedic hospital where Vietnam veterans underwent skin grafts and amputations.

The CNN article omits that Baker also designed flags for demonstrations against the Vietnam war. It is said that Gilbert Baker’s inspiration for the rainbow flag came from an earlier peace flag.

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