Flag of Washington, D.C.
The flag of Washington, D.C. consists of three red stars above two red bars on a white background. It is based upon the design of the coat of arms of the family of George Washington. For heraldic reasons, the stars are properly called "mullets."
For over a century, the District of Columbia was without an official flag and flew several unofficial banners — usually the flag of the D.C. National Guard. In 1938, Congress established a commission to choose an official, original design. The commission ended up choosing in a public competition a design by Charles A.R. Dunn, a graphic designer. His design was officially adopted on October 15, 1938. Dunn had first proposed this design for the D.C. flag in 1921.
In 2002, the D.C. city council debated a proposal to change the flag in protest of the District's lack of voting rights in Congress. The new design would have added the letters "D.C." to the center star and the words "Taxation Without / Representation" in white to the two red bars. The change presumably would have been temporary and revoked once the city achieved equal representation or statehood. It passed the city council on a 10-2 vote but support for the proposal soon eroded and then-Mayor Anthony A. Williams never signed the bill.
In a 2004 poll on the North American Vexillological Association website, Washington, D.C.'s flag was voted the best design among United States city flags [1]. It had previously placed eighth in their survey of North American state and provincial flags [2].
Symbolism
(Although the flag was inspired by the Washington Family Coat of Arms, this symbolism does not apply to the heraldic shield.)
Bars
The two red bars of the flag represent, from top to bottom, the two states (Maryland and Virginia) that ceded land to form the Federal District. The white bar that divides the two symbolize the Potomac River.
Mullets
The 3 red stars or mullets above the upper red stripe represent the 3 branches of federal government:
- The first star represents Executive Branch
- The second star represents Legislative Branch
- The third star represents Judicial Branch
(Not necessarily in the order listed above.)
See also
Sources
- District of Columbia at Flags of the World
- D.C. Taxation Without Representation flag at Flags of the World
