GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE SECTION B

Evenings Out

PHOTO: BRIAN DEWITT

Gay & Lesbian Pride that's a mile long In May of 1978, San Francisco resident, designer, and gay

activist Gilbert Baker was asked to create an exciting new symbol of the gay and lesbian freedom movement for the city's upcoming Freedom Day Parade. The community wanted to adopt and embrace its own symbol, to embody the positive message of gay and lesbian human rights.

To Baker, the rainbow was the perfect symbol of the diversity of the gay and lesbian community, and the ideal metaphor for a group of individuals which he considered a magical and beautiful part of nature. Community members agreed.

During the weeks before the parade, more than 20 volunteers joined Baker at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center on 330 Grove Street. Cleve Jones, eventual founder of the NAMES Project AIDS Quilt, was there, as were many others. The original flag was made of organic cotton, hand-dyed in garbage cans at the Center, rinsed by fire hydrants on the roof of the building, and ironed by hand on tables in the Center. Baker himself stitched together the strips of vibrant fabric.

In the end, the group of twenty friends created much more than a 48' x 62' flag. They created a symbol which was embraced by the gay and lesbian community, and adopted as an enduring symbol of their movement symbol which has led Pride Day celebrations throughout the country for well over a decade.

According to Baker, "A flag must transcend the personalities behind it and symbolize the community it represents." Baker hopes that when the world views his latest project, the largest rainbow flag in history, they will see it for what it is a symbol of the beauty, diversity and color of the lesbian and gay freedom movement.

The new, mile-long rainbow flag, will appear one time only, when it will draw 10,000 "Raise the Rainbow" supporters to carry the flag at the Stonewall 25 International March on the United Nations to Affirm the Human Rights of Lesbian and Gay People in New York City on June 26, 1994. There the flag's bright alliance of colors will not only represent the diversity, strength, and unity of gays and lesbians across the nation, but also raise funds desperately needed to fight the AIDS epidemic, a fight which has been led by the gay community.

Individuals can register to carry the flag in "Raise The Rainbow" and support AIDS charities nationwide by printing their name, address and phone number and sending it with a tax deductible contribution of $50 or more, payable to The Stadtlanders Foundation, c/o The Stadtlanders Foundation, 600 Penn Center Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15235-5810. The first 10,000 to register will receive a commemorative strip of the historic flag.

The Stadtlanders Foundation has commissioned Gilbert Baker to personally supervise the production of the world's largest rainbow flag in New York City this winter, joining together more than 17,000 square yards of fabric in the vibrant purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red hues of the

rainbow.

Corporate sponsor Stadtlanders Pharmacy, a nationwide pharmacy specializing in serving the needs of individuals living with HIV/AIDS and other chronic conditions, is underwriting all costs for creation of the rainbow flag so that every dollar contributed by marchers will go directly to the Foundation.

All funds generated by "Raise The Rainbow" will be distributed to AIDS charities under the guidance of The Stadtlanders Foundation's 16-member National Community AIDS Advisory Board chaired by Cleve Jones, founder of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.

RAKE THE RAINBOW