How the hell did they do that. If that happened today there would be a million gram videos and a Netflix documentary on it.
Four dudes and the support of a community.
I was going to ask how they made a flag a mile long, but now I will have to read why. Hahaha
Baker moved to New York at the end of 1993, initially staying in a commune at 9 Bleecker Street, off the Bowery. The basement commercial space at 269 West 16th Street, visible through a window and part of a high-rise apartment building in Chelsea, became his “Raise the Rainbow” workshop. In anticipation of long hours of sewing, he had white linoleum floors installed to reflect more light in the space. The walls, including the pipes, were painted white and big banks of fluorescent lights ran the length of the room. He also specified the location of a staircase (still there) so that the finished flag could be transported to street level more easily. The workshop accommodated 18 “refrigerator-sized crates,” each holding a bolt of fabric and weighing 400 pounds.
Baker was joined by McNamara and Jones’s assistant, Ed, who ran the front office. Richard Ferrara, who created banners and flags for Heritage of Pride, the organizers of the NYC Pride March, was Baker’s chief assistant. (Other volunteers helped fold, tie, and transport the flag.)
“I would get to the workshop at seven thirty each morning, drink coffee, and start sewing. James and Ed would roll in around ten. Richard dropped by most evenings. The four of us put in long hours, often staying late into the night.” --Gilbert Baker, Rainbow Warrior (2021)
Completed in early June, the mile-long flag, then a Guinness World Record, weighed 7,000 pounds and measured 30 feet in width.
honestly, that is a damned beautiful photo. The organic strip of color running through the stark concrete jungle is visually and meaningfully impressive.
How far America has fallen
To be fair, I don’t think NY has “fallen” like a lot of the rest of the US has. They did just elect Mamdani after all!
The 90s certainly weren’t the best time, measured in absolute terms of social justice, but I’m inclined to think they may have been the time of the best trajectory. It seemed to be a time in which one would say "Hey, you can’t hold that backwards attitude anymore. This is the 90s."
How long is a mile again?
About two half miles.
Give or take
Can I get the length in oranges?
At least 12.
5,280ft
It used to be 5,000 feet but then the English decided to shorten the foot but keep the mile the same length in the Elizabethan era
Is…is that true?
Yes, if somewhat indirectly, as in that wasn’t the goal.
Historically, the Romans invented the mile and it measured 1,000 soldier’s paces (if you speak a Latin-based language you will likely recognize “mile” as meaning 1,000). A soldier’s pace was supposed to cover 5 feet. Thus, one mile historically equaled 5,000 feet. Lots of countries influenced by the Roman Empire used to use some variant on that idea and they tended to stay fairly close in length, but there weren’t really any agreed-upon international standards.
Thanks!
you betcha
It’s the distance one freedom eagle can fly before being returned to captivity.
3 miles is near 5k…idk what the conversation is.
What do you do with such an object afterwards though?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_flag_(LGBTQ)#Mile-long_flags
After the march, foot-wide (0.30 m) sections of the flag were given to individual sponsors after the event had ended. Additional large sections of the flag were sent with activists and used in pride parades and LGBTQ marches worldwide. One large section was later taken to Shanghai Pride in 2014 by a small contingent of San Francisco Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and documented in the film Stilettos for Shanghai.
Since it’s america, i assume they threw it into the Hudson river.
thats just bird strike aircraft.
Look. It’s fine. The plane is made from materials that originally came from nature. We’re just…giving them back to nature!
thats the sweetest fuckin thing ever
For next year’s pride, let’s do the world’s largest balloon launch. Just release the largest number of balloons anyone has ever set off at once. Release them in big coordinated rainbows. I’m sure that’s never caused any problems before.
Fuck im old. Stone wall is closer to my birthday than I am
