Now, 40 years later, one of the women instrumental in the flag’s creation says history has largely forgotten some of the artists who made it happen. Unbeknownst to them, their colorful project, the rainbow flag, would become the international symbol for LGBTQ rights, seen practically everywhere - from atop City Hall in liberal West Hollywood, to countries like Uganda, where homosexuality is illegal, to the Target clothing aisle during LGBTQ Pride Month. They had been tasked with making two enormous flags to fly above the city’s Gay Freedom Day Parade, and they wanted something bright. It was the summer of 1978, and the Gay Community Center in San Francisco swarmed with dozens of young hippies flitting between ironing boards, sewing machines and trash cans filled with colorful dye.
