Rainbow Alliance painted the Rock in honor of National Coming Out Day. Sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the day is celebrated to promote awareness of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights. From the HRC Web site:
“This year will also mark an important hallmark, as National Coming Out Day, Oct. 11, 2007, falls on the 20th anniversary of the 1987 Gay and Lesbian March on Washington, and the unfurling of the AIDS Quilt on the National Mall. National Coming Out Day was celebrated a year to the day later as a way of continuing the spirit of openness, honesty and visibility that the march and the AIDS Quilt presentation inspired.”