gilbert baker, an openly gay activist born in 1951, grew up in parsons, kansas, and went on to serve in the us army for about two years around 1970. after an honorable discharge, gilbert taught himself to sew. in 1974, baker met harvey milk, an influential gay leader, who three years later challenged baker to come up with a symbol of pride for the gay community. the original gay pride flag flew at the san francisco gay freedom day parade celebration on june 25, 1978. before this pride, the pink triangle was used as a symbol for the lgbt movement but it represented a dark chapter in the history of same-sex rights. the pink triangle was created by the nazis during world war ii to identify and stigmatize homosexuals in the same way the star of david was used against jews and others regarded as viruses or sub-humans in the social fabric. it functioned as a nazi tool of oppression. harvey milk and others didn't want to use this symbol anymore, artie bressan, a close friend of baker's, pressed on baker for a new symbol and called it "the dawn of a new gay consciousness and freedom". it has been suggested that baker may have been inspired by judy garland's singing "over the rainbow" and the stonewall riots that happened a few days after garland's death (she was one of the first gay icons).