Most everyone knows what the American flag looks like, but there are actually a few variations of the typical design that most people are not familiar with. One of these variations is an American flag that is black and white, but with a green stripe down the middle. Few people are familiar with what this flag means, but we’ll tell you what you need to know.
The Meaning of the American Flag With a Green Stripe
There are actually several black and white American flags with different colored stripes on them. The main purpose of these flags is to honor individuals in a variety of different civil services. Generally, this is for those who risk or sacrifice their lives to protect others. Naturally, this includes the flag with the green stripe.
Specifically, the black and white flag with the green stripe is used to honor those in federal law enforcement: the risks they take, and the efforts they put in to keep people and places around the country safe. Other than the presence of this green horizontal stripe in the middle of the flag, the rest of the design is identical to the US flag.
The only difference is the fact that everything besides the green stripe is in black or white. This is intentional, as it also has meaning. The black and the white represent the neverending conflict between good and evil, order and chaos. The green in the middle represents the line of division that law and justice create between these two extremes.
Why Green Instead of Blue?
When you think of law enforcement, you likely think of police officers, which are most often associated with blue. However, the green stripe is used to honor federal law enforcement agents, not country agents like police officers. Federal law enforcement agents include professions like border patrol, conservation personnel, and park rangers.
It also includes general military personnel across all branches, as well as animal control and fish and wildlife officers. People in these professions are most often seen wearing shades of green, which is why a green stripe is used to represent them. A black and white flag with a blue stripe is used to honor those in the police force instead.
There are other stripe colors besides green and blue for other service professions.
Honoring Multiple Professions
Sometimes, a single flag can be used to honor multiple professions. For instance, a flag may honor two different types of professions, in which case you may see both a green stripe and another color of stripe in the center of the flag, laid horizontally on top of each other.
A different type of flag layout may instead choose to divide the single center stripe into two colors, with half of the stripe being green and another half being a different color. However, despite this different design layout, the meaning of this type of flag is still the same. It’s a way to honor professionals in multiple service branches at once.
