Gilbert Baker

Vexillography is a very big word! Vexillography is really the high science and art and understanding of flags and their history - the academic word for flag making and heraldry. ”

Our job as gay people was to come out, to be visible - to live in the truth, as I say - to get out of the lie. ”

When I was young, they thought I was from outer space. I was the only gay person they probably knew, and they struggled with that. Everybody knew I was gay. They just didn't want to talk about it. ”

It's not so easy to be gay or even a woman in some places in the world, and in many countries, it's illegal to be gay. You can be put to death. It's a global struggle. A human rights struggle on a global scale. ”

Our movement is evolving. The movement to liberate our sexuality as a human right, that's an ongoing struggle. ”

Flags are about proclaiming power... that visibility is key to our success and to our justice. ”

I think the Rainbow Flag will survive forever, primarily because it's the perfect flag, regardless of whatever political meaning it may have or evolve to. ”

The rainbow flag is a symbol of freedom and liberation that we made for ourselves. ”

Being gay in San Francisco is fun. Being gay in Saudi Arabia - that's a whole other matter. ”

That's really how I ended up making the first flag - I was the guy who could sew it. ”