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| Black American Heritage Flag image from Wikipedia |
Black History Month:
The Black American Heritage Flag
Written by Raven Pugh, MA
February 13, 2023
When we think of America, we think of a land with countless cultures, nationalities, religions, and ideologies. To many, the country represents change, freedom, and newfound hope; and it has become the home to countless people while continuing to keep the door open to immigrants, despite the push for new policies.
But for black Americans, also identified through other historical phrases such as African Americans; their relationship with the country has been filled with tears, joy, pain, and pride. Black Americans, whether one believes had already inherited the land before the arrival of the British, or that they were all forced to this land through the transatlantic slave trade, have been forced to make a life with centuries of racism and prejudices on their back.
The Civil Rights Movement was one of many liberation movements that empowered black Americans to stand proud of not just who they were but of their country as well. During this time, two black men noticed that although other nationalities had flags to fly to show their cultural pride in the melting pot of America, there was no flag to represent black Americans. So in 1967, those two men, Melvin Charles and Gleason T. Jackson decided to design the Black American Heritage Flag (Hanlon, 2023).
The Black American Heritage Flag was created to “celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of black Americans. Its 3 main colors, red, black and gold each represent something specific to the struggle and elevation of black people in America. Red is to symbolize the blood shed by black Americans. Black is used to symbolize pride and the gold color/symbol is used to represent intellect, prosperity and peace (Hanlon, 2023).
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| Pan-American Flag image from Wikipedia |
The Black American Heritage Flag is not the only flag that was designed to represent black pride, other flags include the Pan-American flag designed by Marcus Garvey; and the Juneteenth flag designed by Ben Haith (Mention, 2022).
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| Juneteenth Flag image from Wikipedia |
So today, as we move from the idea that black history deserves a month of recognition, into an inclusive view that black history is American history, let’s celebrate the staple of the Black American Heritage Flag.
References:
Hanlon, R. (2023, February 1). Everything To Know About the Black American Heritage Flag. Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays; Parade. https://parade.com/living/black-american-heritage-flag
Mention, B. (2022, August 16). A Timeline Of Black American Flags Throughout History. Essence; Essence. https://www.essence.com/news/black-american-flags-history/
Images:
Black American Heritage Flag - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_American_Heritage_Flag
Pan-American Flag by Marcus Garvey - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-African_flag
Juneteenth Flag - CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/17/us/juneteenth-flag-meaning-explainer-cec/index.html
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