![original gay flag colors original gay flag colors](https://www.unco.edu/gender-sexuality-resource-center/images/pride-flags/Ally-Pride.jpg)
With Ethiopia being the only modern day African country to avoid colonisation, it was thus the first to come up with its own unifying flag. From top to bottom, the colors represent sex, life, healing.
ORIGINAL GAY FLAG COLORS SERIES
Red represents life orange, healing yellow, sunlight green, nature blue, peace and harmony purple, spirit light blue, light pink and white, trans individuals black and brown, marginalized QPOC communities black, those living with HIV, those no longer living and those surrounded by stigma. This is the first of a series of articles which will look at the origins of some of Africa’s flags and what they represent. The eight-color flag first flew over the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade in June of 1978. Quasar also explains the colors of the flag. The arrow points to the right to show forward movement, while being along the left edge shows that progress still needs to be made.” But for the last 42 years, in the particular form of a flag with six distinct colorsred, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet, it has been the internationally recognised symbol of the LGBT. Quasar continues, “The trans flag and marginalized community stripes were shifted to the Hoist of the flag and given a new arrow shape. “The six-stripe LGBT flag should be separated from the newer stripes because of their difference in meaning, as well as to shift focus and emphasis to what is important in our current community climate.” On a Kickstarter looking to raise $14,000 to mass-produce the flag, Quasar explains the design. Originally there were eight colours in the flag, including hot pink and turquoise, with each having their own meaning.
![original gay flag colors original gay flag colors](https://i0.wp.com/epgn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/PhillyRainbowFlag.jpg)
Each of the eight colors had a meaning: Pink: Sex. It is typically made up of six stripes which appear in descending order from red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet, which are positioned horizontally. Designed by artist Gilbert Baker, the Retro 8 Rainbow Pride Flag also included hot pink and turquoise, and each color was assigned a specific meaning. Quasar writes, “I felt there needed to be more thought put into the design and emphasis of the flag to give it more meaning.” Three years later, Milk challenges Baker to create a symbol for the gay community, and the end product is the first rainbow LGBTQ flag. While the modern-day Rainbow Flag features six stripes of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet, the Original Rainbow Pride Flag of 1978 contained a total of eight stripes.