And during the Hippie movement of the 1960s, peaceful protesters brought the rainbow equals peace concept back to the forefront.īut how the rainbow became specifically associated with LGBTQ rights goes back to San Francisco in the late 1970s, and to one artist in particular. Italy and Greece both use rainbow-striped flags to symbolize peace. The International Co-operative Movement designed a colorful banner to show international unity in 1921. There's evidence to suggest that rainbow-colored flags date back at least to the German Peasants' War in the 1500s.
Flags with a spectrum of colors have been used for centuries to represent change.
