“Sometimes, wearing rainbow colors isn’t about orientation or politicization. Sometimes a rainbow is just a rainbow…,” stated Steve Hartman on CBS Sunday Morning March 16th, 2025. His brief story below is an example of how homophobia can affect everyone, in this case an autistic 10-year-old boy, Hunter Blankenship, and his family and community in Alabama.
Hartman’s regular brief features are a favorite of mine—almost always a tearjerker of the good kind:
At the end we’re told that some folks, in a supportive nod to Hunter, wore rainbow glasses. What a great way, I thought, not only to support someone but also to help bring a beloved symbol back into general embrace; in other words, to make it more accepted, less attached to one specific and wrongly stigmatized group. Presuming someone is gay for wearing rainbow colors, by the way, is akin to nowadays presuming someone is MAGA for waving the American flag. Neither the LGBTQ+ community nor Trump voters own their symbols exclusively.
The rainbow, of course, means different things to different people. Notably, before the adoption of the rainbow flag by the LGBTQ+ community in 1978, there was the Rainbow Coalition, an arm of the civil rights movement. Furthermore, many different religions, cultures, and individuals over the course of history have had their own interpretations and attachments to the rainbow. This Wikipedia article lays out many of them.
Music, included in the article, is something I want to highlight further. In the sweet 2011 song “Rainbow Connection” by The Muppets, sung by Kermit the Frog, he begins, “Why are there so many songs about rainbows….” I mean, there really are so many. (See this page on Secondhandsongs.com.)
The one that stands above all others, though, is “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from the original Wizard of Oz movie (1939). Nearly 2000 cover versions exist.
Starting with a gentle performance by Eva Cassidy (1963-1996), below are several that are particularly “note”-worthy.
If you prefer something more group-angelic and a cappella, here’s Voctave:
One of my favorite song interpreters is Heather Headley, whose Broadway My Way album is stellar:
Many have tried to imitate this simpler cover by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (1959-1997):
From sublime (above) to over the top, Patti Labelle, decades ago, big Big hair and all:
In closing, I also need to mention singer/performer extraordinaire Randy Rainbow—his real last name—who has regularly parodied political issues since before Trump 1.0. So, what does this have to do with actual rainbows? It’s that he brings hope and humor to many who proudly resist our current state of national affairs. His most recent video, moreover, just happens to use “Defying Gravity” from the Wizard of Oz-related movie Wicked.
It’s one of his best. (Please bear with his necessary ad toward the beginning.)
