The American flag is most often seen in its usual colors of red, white, and blue. However, those are the national colors used to represent it as a nation on the world stage. There are some alternatively colored variants of the flag that are used to symbolize other things of importance. One of these is the black, red, and green American flag.
This color variation is but one of many, so it’s understandable for people to now know what it actually stands for. We’ll tell you all about it here today.
The Black, Red, and Green American Flag is The “African American” Flag
Of course, officially, there is no African American flag. However, as with most symbolism, it has been adopted as such and is generally recognized as standing for this cause. The black, red, and green version of the American flag is representative of African Americans. Originally, it was an art piece made for an exhibit.
The reason this version of the American flag is black, red, and green is that those are the colors of the Pan-African flag, first and foremost. The message here is quite straightforward: by combining the design of the American flag with the colors of the Pan-African flag, this flag symbolizes pride in one’s heritage as both an African descendant and an American citizen.
The colors themselves are also symbolic. The black is quite literal and is a symbol of pride in being black. The red represents the blood shed by African American ancestors across all causes and tribulations, and the green is representative of what was unwillingly left behind by African American ancestors when they were brought to the Americas.
Needless to say, the African American flag both takes pride in one’s heritage and acknowledges the tribulations that brought Africans to the Americas in the first place. It pays respect to what those in the past had to sacrifice but takes pride in the perseverance of African Americans that allowed them to overcome those trials.
Are Alternative Color US Flags Common?
Unless you are active in certain areas of society, you will not often see American flags that have different colors than the official one. However, there are actually quite a lot of these derivative flags, with the African American flag just being one of them.
For instance, there are many flags that are black and white with a single colored stripe in the middle of them, which is often green or blue. These flags are paying respects to people in certain professions, such as the police or the military. There is also a flag that is all green and white, which is symbolic of environmental movements.
Needless to say, there are many other derivative American flags with other color schemes. These color schemes change the symbolic meaning of the flag, but at the same time, the American flag design connects the symbolism to American citizens or a domestic movement of some type.
