The designer of the most recognizable symbol of the LGBTQ movement has come to Winnipeg to take part in this year’s Pride Festival.
Artist Gilbert Baker designed the original Pride flag in 1978. Since then, it has come to symbolize the fight for equality for LGBTQ people around the world.
Baker will be the International Grand Marshal in the Pride Parade on Sunday.
On Wednesday, the Pride flag flew on Parliament Hill in Ottawa for the first time.
“I thought that was really cool,” Baker said. “I thought that said a lot that the prime minister raised it on Parliament Hill. It said to me that we’re valued members of our society, that we’re respected and celebrated and loved.
The same day the flag was raised on Parliament Hill, Baker gave an interview to the Canadian Museum of Human Rights for its oral history project.
“I think it’s important that we share our stories, that we tell them and we document them,” he said. “I’m not the only story, there are hundreds, thousands, millions of stories, and the more that we share those, the more light that we bring to our movement.”
In the days leading up to the parade, he is giving presentations to groups around the province, as well as taking in the local sights.
“I’ve been in Pride parades in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto Ottawa and now Winnipeg, so for me it’s a chance to explore the country and meet the people,” he said.
Baker said there is a lot of similarity between the LGBTQ movements in Canada and the U.S., with people still struggling against violence and discrimination.
“The next step is to move past pride to liberation. And I think part of that is going back to our roots, if you will, to empower ourselves to take on the real enemies, violence, discrimination, and to make those disappear.”
His trip is sponsored the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity and the American embassy.
