A panel of contemporaries and friends of the late Gilbert Baker, the creator of the iconic rainbow flag, will discuss Baker’s artistic output, activism and legacy. Panelists will include activist Charley Beal, the manager of the Gilbert Baker Estate, and Cass Brayton, better known as Sister Mary Media, a longtime member of the LGBTQ activist and fundraising group the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Swapping stories, spilling secrets and sharing memories, the speakers will recall the life and times of a complex and deeply passionate man. This program is being held in conjunction with the exhibition “Performance, Protest and Politics: The Art of Gilbert Baker,” on display at the GLBT Historical Society Museum through April 5.
MODERATOR
Cass Brayton is better known as Sister Mary Media. He is a longtime member of the famed Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a political street performance organization dedicated to community service and activism that has raised over $1 million for charities.
SPEAKERS
Charley Beal is a lifelong social activist who attended his first civil rights demonstration in Lansing, Michigan in 1962. Beal is an award-winning art director for film and television, working with renowned directors including Mike Nichols, Nora Ephron, Ridley Scott and Gus Van Sant. His film credits include ”Sleepless in Seattle,” “The First Wives Club,” “In & Out,” “Milk” and “Eat Pray Love.” Television credits include “Boardwalk Empire,” “Smash,” “Gotham,” and “Power.” Charley is a key member of the Gilbert Baker Estate and represented Baker for the publication of the artist’s posthumous memoirs, Rainbow Warrior: My Life in Color (Chicago Review Press, 2019.)
James Ferrigan is an expert in vexillology, flag-making and the flag industry. He was hired in 1978 by the Paramount Flag Company of San Francisco, where he went on to be both an observer and participant in the creation, evolution and adoption of the rainbow flag.
Vincent Guzzone is a filmmaker and retired New York City firefighter and police officer. He was decorated for his work on the September 11 rescue and recovery efforts and is a longtime member of FireFlag, the LGBTQ group of active and retired Fire Department of New York firefighters. A longtime friend of Gilbert Baker, he worked closely with the artist on an exhibition of Baker’s map paintings in Hudson, New York in 2016 and accompanied Baker to the White House in 2016 to present rainbow flag to President Obama.
Ken Jones is a community activist and social change agent with more than four decades of community engagements. His served as a cochair of the Outreach and Celebration Committees of the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Freedom Day Parade and Celebration. He was a core volunteer at the Kaposi’s Sarcoma Research and Education Foundation during the early days of the AIDS epidemic. Jones went on to manage thousands of volunteers at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation for almost a decade, where he also created and managed the very first 100-mile AIDS Bike-a-Thon from San Francisco the Russian River.
Carol Leigh (aka Scarlet Harlot) is an American artist, author, film maker, and sex workers’ rights activist. She is credited with coining the term “sex worker” and currently chairs the Sex Worker Film and Arts Festival and is the director of BAYSWAN, the Bay Area Sex Worker Advocacy Network.
LOCATION
GLBT Historical Society Museum, 4127 18th St., San Francisco, CA 94114
ADMISSION
Space is limited; advance tickets recommended. Walk-ins will be accommodated as space allows. Tickets available here.
ASL INTERPRETATION
ASL interpretation provided upon request. Please write at least three days in advance of event to leigh@glbthistory.org.
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Image credit: Gilbert Baker posing in a rainbow dress with a Rolling Stones tambourine during the 1987 Castro Street Fair; photograph by Robert Pruzan, collection of the GLBT Historical Society.