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| This flag was adopted by the members of the ] (UNIA) at their convention held in ] on ], ]. | |||
| Informally, the flag is has been referred to as '''The Red, Black, and Green''', paralleling the nickname of the U.S. flag, '''The Red, White, and Blue.''' More formally, the flag goes by several names with varying degrees of popularity: | |||
| *the '''UNIA flag''', after its originators; rarely used | |||
| *the '''Marcus Garvey''' flag; used mostly by ] | |||
| *the '''Universal African''' flag; rarely used | |||
| *the '''International African''' flag; rarely used | |||
| *the '''Black Liberation''' flag; commonly used, especially since the 1960s | |||
| *the '''Pan-African''' flag; commonly used, especially since the 1990s. | |||
| Although other designs are also referred to as the International African flag or the Pan-African flag, the descending stripes of red, black, and green in popularized by UNIA in 1920 are the design most often referred to this way. | |||
| == Meaning and history == | |||
| The three colors represent: | |||
| *]: the blood that unites all people of ]n ancestry, and shed for liberation; | |||
| *]: ] whose existence as a ], though not a ], is affirmed by the existence of the flag; and | |||
| *]: the abundant natural wealth of Africa. | |||
| The flag was created in 1920 by ] and the members of the UNIA in response to a ] song written in ] entitled ''The Only Race Without a Flag is the ']' ''. The song was written by ] and ] and popular in the U.S. and Britain. | |||
| A 1921 report appearing in the ''Africa Times and Orient Review'', for which Marcus Garvey worked, quoted him regarding the importance of the flag: | |||
| <blockquote>''Show me the race or the nation without a flag, and I will show you a race of people without any pride. Aye! In song and mimicry they have said, "Every race has a flag but the coon." How true! Aye! But that was said of us four years ago. They can't say it now....''</blockquote> | |||
| The flag later became a ] symbol for the liberation of African people everywhere, though it has always been mostly commonly seen in the ]. As an emblem of ], the flag became popular during the ] movement of the 1960s. In 1971, the school board of Newark, ], passed a resolution permitting the flag to be raised in public school classrooms. Four of the board's nine members were not present at the time, and the resolution was introduced by the board's teen member, a mayoral appointee. Fierce controversy ensued, including a court order that the board show cause why they should not be forced to rescind the resolution, and at least two state legislative proposals to ban ethnic or national flags in public classrooms other than the official U.S. flag. | |||
| The flag is presently widely available through flag shops or ethnic specialty stores. It is commonly seen at parades commemorating ], ] rallies, and other special events. | |||
| == Similar flags == | |||
| A ] flag is a variant of this flag with a raised, clenched fist centered over the red, black, and green stripes. | |||
| The ] flag is three horizontal stripes, descending black, green, and dark yellow (gold). | |||
| The ] flag is three horizontal stripes, descending green, yellow, and red. It is derived from the Ethiopian flag. | |||
| The flag of ] is three horizontal stripes, descending green, yellow, red, with a light blue disk in the center blazoned with a yellow pentagram, with yellow single rays emanating from the angles of the pentagram and terminating before the edge of the disk. It is the oldest national flag in Africa, and the colors of its three horizontal bands are sometime referred to as the Pan-African colors. | |||
| The ] issued a stamp in 1997 to commemorate ] with a modern graphic of a dark-skinned family wearing garments traditional in parts of Africa and fashionable for special occasions among African-Americans. The family members are holding food, gifts, and a flag. The flag in the stamp may have been meant to represent the Pan-African flag; however, instead of the stripes descending red, black, and green, the stamp's flag transposes the top two bands and descends black, red, and green. | |||
| In ], artist ] created a work called ''African-American Flag'' which is held by the ] in ]. Based on the standard U.S. flag, its stripes are black and red, the field is green, and the stars on the field are black. | |||
| == Proposed holiday == | |||
| ] is celebrated as ] in the U.S. In ], an article appeared in the July 25 edition of ''The Black World Today'' suggesting that, as an act of global solidarity, every ] should be celebrated worldwide as Universal African Flag Day by flying the red, black, and green banner. August 17 is the birthday of Marcus Garvey. | |||
| == See also == | |||
| *] | |||
| == External links == | |||
| * at Flags of the World non-commercial vexillology site | |||
| *"Every Race Has a Flag But the 'Coon": | |||
| ** from a ] website | |||
| ** from the ] website of the ] | |||
| * article proposing holiday at ''The Black World Today'', July 25, 1999 | |||
| * U.S. postage depicting similar flag, with explanatory press release | |||
| * an educational exercise based on David Hammons' ''African-American Flag'' | |||
| * | |||
| ==References== | |||
| "Black Flag," unattributed article in ''TIME'' Magazine, December 13, 1971. (re Newark school board controversy) | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 02:13, 19 May 2006
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