at HARVEY MILK PLAZA
SEPT 13th, 2024
HISTORIC GILBERT BAKER RAINBOW FLAG INSTALLATION IN SAN FRANCISCO’S WAS DESIGNATED A LANDMARK ON SEPT 13th, 2024 CEREMONY
The landmarking ceremony for the Gilbert Baker art installation at Harvey Milk Plaza took place on Sept. 13, 2024.
The historic event was the first of its kind for a Rainbow Flag in the world. The ceremony was presided over my Mayor London Breed, who signed the official proclamation.
The landmarking was the culmination of four years of community petitioning and cooperation, sparked initially by the Gilbert Baker Foundation.
We are grateful to Supervisor Rafael Mandelman and dynamic individuals and community groups in the Bay Area for their vision and energies in achieving this historic milestone.
2022 Awareness Campaign
The Gilbert Baker Foundation on
FLAGS AT HARVEY MILK PLAZA
By Charles Beal, Monica Helms and Aaron Casserly Stewart
In San Francisco in 1978, Gilbert Baker created the Rainbow Flag, assisted by a diverse group of radical activists. It has since become the globally recognized symbol of LGBTQ+ liberation.
There is a powerful global dialogue currently about identity – political, racial, sexual and gender-related. On this subject, Gilbert Baker was a visionary; he created the Rainbow Flag as a symbol of hope for all races, all genders and all ages. Gilbert called it “the rainbow of humanity” and the flag’s colors represent elements in all of us: Sex, Life, Healing, Sunlight, Nature, Magic, Spirit and Serenity.
As Gilbert Baker’s sole remaining permanent art installation, the Rainbow Flag at Harvey Milk Plaza deserves landmark status. It is a beacon of hope for all people – especially for those who live in oppressive countries. It is also the most significant piece of LGBTQ+ art in San Francisco — perhaps in the world — and a “time capsule” that marks and commemorates those activists (black, white, latino, asian and native born) that fought for the rights we have today.