﻿Three red stars above two red stripes, all on white. As soon as I arrived here in Washington,
D.C. I began to notice the D.C. flag prominently displayed: in shops, on bumper stickers,
on T-shirts, and graffiti; I even heard people get it tattooed in various places.
And of course oftentimes the flag is accompanied by the rebellious notion of ‘taxation without
representation’, a phrase associated with the American founding - it denoted the lack
of the 13 colonies ability to influence the English Parliament through voting and sending
representatives to England. In the case of DC, it is appropriated to express how the residents
of the District of Columbia have no voting representation in the House of Representatives
or the Senate, while nonetheless being American citizens and paying federal taxes.
And that is because, of course, DC is not a state. Though some trendy
slogans and merch around here might have you believe it is the 51st state, it is, in fact,
not. The District does have a non-voting member of congress, Eleanor Norton, and since the passage
of the 23rd amendment, has been provided 3 electoral votes in presidential elections.
However, the budget and parameters of DC governance are bestowed upon it through
jurisdiction of the US Congress, and not through the 10th amendment of the US Constitution,
as in the case of the 50 states. The District of Columbia was established
as the so-called ‘Federal District' in 1790 by way of Article 1 Section 8 of
the US Constitution. Article 1 deals with the powers of Congress, and in Clause 17
Congress is given power to quote “exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever,
over such District”, which they add is not to exceed 10 square miles, 16 kilometers.
The actual selection of the area known as D.C. today, then part of Maryland and Virginia,
came from the Residence Act, passed in 1790. The law itself was one of many American compromises
on slavery. Southern states feared that a Federal District too far north would lead
to pro-abolitionist policies. D.C.’s location was thought to be far enough south by advocates such
as Thomas Jefferson, who cut a deal with Alexander Hamilton: in exchange for the Federal District’s
location moving southward, a reorganization of Federal finances. Of course this compromise was
famously dramatized in the song ‘The Room Where it Happens’ from Hamilton. The District boundary
has shifted over the years, notably with the retrocession of Alexandria County in 1846,
again based in fears over slavery. Though the slave trade was banned in DC through
the Compromise of 1850, there were thousands of enslaved people in Washington DC at the start of
the American Civil War in 1861. There was also a large population of free people of color. Through
the defense of DC, or in the process of fleeing the South, seeking employment, refuge - DC’s black
population swelled by the end of the war. It led some whites to sarcastically call DC the ‘Black
Man’s Paradise’ well into the 20th century. Though the percentage of DC’s black population decreased
to 46% in the latest census, it is still high, and that height is related to this history.
This racial element of DC’s history often gets lost in the discussions of DC statehood;
some advocates have moved beyond straightforward arguments like, ‘taxation without representation’,
and chosen new frames, like the idea that DC statehood would be a matter of racial justice.
To keep DC residents in a limbo between full and second-class citizenship, the United States is,
say advocates, disenfranchising a black population with a significant role in America’s racial
story. -
What am I building up to here? Well, this context on DC history and
people is important because DC’s flag reflects the larger issue of DC's status.
The flag was selected with no formal input from DC residents. Per their constitutional right,
Congress imposed its choice for a flag on the District.
In the 1920’s, a local paper, the Evening Star received a flag design submission from
a Charles Dunn. This 1924 design for DC has obvious similarities to the one used today.
Instead of red stars, the stars are blue. Dunn based the design on the coat of arms
of the Washington family. George Washington of course being Washington, DC’s namesake.
Here’s the Washington coat of arms. It dates way back to England, the Lord of *Wessyngton’s*
son used an emblem that would evolve into this one as early as 1203. A version with
stars appeared in the 14th century, and by the end of that century, they were a familiar red.
George Washington’s great-grandfather brought the emblem with him to Virginia in the 1660’s.
Fast forward to 1917, and National Geographic was preparing an issue entitled, ‘Our Flag Number’,
which contained over 1,000 country and state flags. A local Washingtonian, the aforementioned
Charles Dunn, was tasked with recreating flag illustrations from original sources.
Dunn was a vexillologist, and student of flags. As he examined state flags for National Geographic,
he had critiques. Many state flags were simply state logos on blue backgrounds,
and Dunn didn’t like it. But even worse, Dunn noticed that the
District of Columbia, the very DC in which he was working, and where he would live his entire life,
not only had a boring flag, another logo on blue, but DC didn’t even have an official flag at all.
The ‘flag of DC’ was actually just the flag of the ‘District of Columbia Militia’,
a precursor to the DC National Guard. An ugly little thing with an axe in the middle,
perhaps because of the legend that George Washington chopped down a cherry tree?
But Dunn says at that moment in 1917, quote “I enlisted in the Army for a couple years and forgot
all about it.” It wasn’t until 1924, when the Chairman of the House District
Committee introduced a bill that DC have a flag of its own, that the Evening Star
put out its call for submissions, and Dunn decided to actually sketch his idea.
Dunn says he was inspired by the Maryland flag, which as you can see is quite unique,
based on the emblem of the Lord of Baltimore. And so Dunn was inspired
to use the emblem of the Washington family, with modifications. As we saw, his original
submission had blue stars rather than red. As it turns out, the US House wasn’t the only
chamber of the US Congress with a committee dealing with the District of Columbia. The Senate
District Committee was also interested in a flag for DC, and a bill was produced which would call
for a commission to select one suitable. With so much buzz, two Congressional committees, a
newspaper contest - you’d think a flag would be adopted right away.
Nope. The project was put to bed in 1924, and only resurrected again in 1938.
Fourteen years later, in June 1938, Congress passed a bill which created an official Flag
Commission, signed by FDR. The Flag Commision included Melvin C Hazen, Commissioner of DC (ok,
check) and for reasons I can’t explain, the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy.
After the Flag Committee work, the flag would be submitted to the Commission of Fine Arts.
Again, Dunn’s design was present among the many, this time an iteration with the red
stars we now know and recognize. One alternative considered was designed
by a Mrs. George T. Hawkins, according to the Evening Star. Her design, which can be seen here,
is quite unique, with 13 nearly psychedelic stars representing the 13 original colonies narrowing
towards the Capitol dome. There are 48 stars surrounding, representing the 48 states at that
time. And of course, the background is blue. By August 1938, the Flag Committee was apparently
“deadlocked” between the two designs. But by October, the Flag and Fine Arts Commission found
a way through, and chose Dunn’s design, which was falsely credited in the reports to A.E Du Bois,
a heraldic expert in the Quartermaster General’s office, and advisor to the Flag Committee. Here’s
Commissioner Hazen with the chosen flag. Despite the miscredit, Dunn's role became more
known years later when he published his own account of the origins of the DC flag.
“I think it’s a good flag,” said Dunn. “...and I’m glad an early dream of mine came true.”
Not all were as pleased with the choice. Local organizations agitated for inclusion in the
decision process, claiming that the Washington imagery had national significance, but not
local significance. The Congress initiated the process, and their designates concluded it.
Was there no space for local voices in the decision-making process?
But those voices quieted over time. Washingtonians came to accept their flag,
and it can now be seen all over. Despite the seeming imposition of the flag
from Congress onto the people of DC, there is a certain rebellious spirit in the display of the
red stars and stripes today. It’s a rebellious spirit perhaps seen only in territories with
‘nationalist’ ambitions, like Catalonia in Spain or Scotland in the UK. DC, unlike these places,
does not want independence, it wants full inclusion and incorporation.
'We don’t want to actually rebel; we want to have a voting member of Congress.'
The issue of Washington DC flag selection contains in it the elements of the inequality
and injustice of the DC situation more broadly. In the case of the flag,
the Constitution provided Congress the ability to select the flag for DC.
And so it did. Washingtonians, having no formally constitutionally delegated powers, were unable
to affect that decision. This pattern applies in almost all other matters of governance in DC.
The things that Washington chooses for itself are false choices;
they're only bestowed the choice if the Congress itself decides to delegate that choice.
It is ironic, then, that the flag has become emblematic of the larger struggle for DC
statehood. A symbol which represents the disempowering of Washington DC turned on
its head and used as a symbol of empowerment, of protest - of DC’s quirky, but ultimately
difficult and serious predicament. In many state flags, you can find history. You
can find a story. Until recently, in flags like South Carolina and Mississippi, you could find
celebration of treason, and deep injustice. DC’s is a flag most don’t recognize,
but if they do, as you might after watching this, they might note a wider conflict,
a wider issue, a wider perspective than the mere Vexillology, decoratory aspects, or the
cutesy parts of designing a flag. There’s a story and a city here worth knowing.
This video is a collaboration with Mr. Beat. Check out his video comparing DC
and Puerto Rico, two potential 51st states of the United States. Mr. Beat and I go way back.
I like him, and I’m sure you already do too. So check out his video. Later y'all.