Superstars: Rainbow Bench

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In 2020, a new rainbow crossing was painted in Sutton to celebrate Pride Month, recognising the influence LGBTQ+ people have had around the world and to raise awareness of current issues facing the community.

Inspired by this, for their social action project, Team Orange decided to do something to support LGBTQ+ youth in their community, let them know that they are seen, and give them a safe space to hang out. 

They decided to build and paint a rainbow bench that would be put in their school grounds.

The rainbow flag has been part of the LGBTQ+ community since 1978, when the artist Gilbert Baker, who was an openly gay man and a drag queen, was urged by gay rights activist, Harvey Milk, to designed a symbol of pride for the community. Gilbert thought that flags were the ultimate, most powerful symbol of pride there could be, as they make you visible and show where - or who - you are. And the rainbow? Well that was a natural flag from the sky!

Originally the flag had eight colours, each representing a different meaning: hot pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for spirit. The first version of the flag was flown in the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day parade and it was made by hand. The flag quickly became a very popular symbol and Gilbert wanted to get them mass produced, so everyone could have them. It was through this process that the flag changed slightly - with the pink and turquoise stripes being removed and the indigo stripe being replaced with blue, which resulted in the most common rainbow flag we see today! 

The flag is an international symbol for LGBTQ+ pride and can be seen flying proudly, all around the world - and in many different variations, from clothing to street crossings, to benches in schools. 

To ensure they could rainbow up their bench, Team Orange set up a jumble sale over two days. They each collected items from their homes that they no longer needed or wanted and sold them on to happy jumble sale visitors! 

They then used the money to buy a bench and paint supplies and create a beautiful rainbow seat for everyone to enjoy. Lovely!

@ncs.sutton day ones of our bench project 👍🏽🧡🧡🏳️‍🌈#fyp #lgbtq ♬ Just for me - PinkPantheress

WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHERE YOU ARE?

Want to carry out some social action in your community but aren’t sure where to start? Take a look at a Changemaker group near you...

And if you’ve already taken part in a social action project that you’re proud of, let us know! Tell us all about it here.