“You don’t have to live a lie. Living a lie will mess you up. It will send you into depression. It will warp your values.”
— Gilbert Baker
Gilbert Baker (June 2, 1951 – March 31, 2017) was an American artist, gay rights activist, and vexillographer (flag-maker). He was primarily known for designing the Rainbow Flag in 1978, a worldwide symbol of LGBT+ pride. Over the next four decades, his creation became embraced across the world as the universal symbol of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movement. California state senator Scott Wiener said Baker “helped define the modern LGBT movement”