The White House transformed itself into the Rainbow House to celebrate marriage equality
Unless you’ve been hiding out under a rock (and that rock was buried under a couple miles of dirt), you know that yesterday the United States Supreme Court ruled to legalize same-sex marriage. An occasion as momentous as yesterday’s ruling deserves the awesomest of celebrations, and the White House really brought its A-game when it came to the festivities.
Last night, in honor of marriage equality, the White House lit up its north side with rainbow lights, transforming the White House into the Rainbow House.
It was a wonderful nod to the rainbow flag, which was created by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker in 1978 as symbol for the gay community. Baker recently gave an interview to the New York Museum of Modern Art (where the original flag currently hangs), during which he recounted the flag’s origin story.
“I thought, a flag is different than any other form of art. It’s not a painting, it’s not just cloth, it is not just a logo—it functions in so many different ways. I thought that we needed that kind of symbol, that we needed as a people something that everyone instantly understands…that influence really came to me when I decided that we should have a flag, that a flag fit us as a symbol, that we are a people, a tribe if you will,” Baker explained. “A flag really fit that mission, because that’s a way of proclaiming your visibility, or saying, ‘This is who I am!’”
Of course, the rainbow flag became everything Baker hoped it would, and the White House gorgeously celebrated this victory for equality last night by adopting the historic colors and celebrating everything the rainbow represents.
Check out the for-one-night-only Rainbow House below:
