Macy Gray is spearheading the movement for a new American flag. In a Juneteenth op-ed published Saturday, the singer called for a redesign of a new flag.
Her op-ed piece was penned for Market Watch and discussed the Confederate flag, which was used as “a symbol of opposition to the abolishment of slavery.” As of recently, it has proven “tired.”
“We don’t see it much anymore,” she wrote. “However, on the 6th [of January], when the stormers rained on the nation’s most precious hut, waving Old Glory — the memo was received: the American flag is its replacement.”
She then moved on to call out President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and members of congress. “The American flag has been hijacked as code for a specific belief. God bless those believers, they can have it. Like the Confederate, it is tattered, dated, divisive, and incorrect,” she wrote. “It no longer represents democracy and freedom. It no longer represents ALL of us. It’s not fair to be forced to honor it. It’s time for a new flag.”
The Grammy winner then gave her own visual breakdown of the flag used today, saying that it should have 52 stars on it than the 50 it currently has. She suggests that an extra pair of stars should be made to represent Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico since they have been “lobbying for statehood” for decades, Deadline reported.
“Both have been denied, since statehood would allow each territory’s elected officials seats in the house. Assuming D.C. reps would be African-American and Puerto Rican reps would be Hispanic, the ultimate assumption is that these elected officials would be Democratic,” Gray wrote. “That alone is racist.”
Apparently, Gray has a reasonable issue with the flag’s white stripes symbolism, which is “purity and innocence.”
“America is great. It is beautiful. Pure, it ain’t,” wrote Gray. “It is broken and in pieces.”
“What if the stripes were OFF-white? What if there were 52 stars to include D.C. and Puerto Rico? What if the stars were the colors of ALL of us — your skin tone and mine — like the melanin scale?” she said. “The blue square represents vigilance and perseverance; and the red stripes stand for valor. America is all of those things. So, what if those elements on the flag remained?”
Gray also proposed a sketch of the American flag that she feels would better represent America today. She supported her design by reminding readers that the current flag was designed in 1959 by 17-year-old Bob Heft. There were only 48 states during that time, but Hawaii and Alaska were up for statehood and were included in the count.
“He crafted a NEW flag with 50 stars for the then-future, because things had changed,” wrote Gray. “Sixty-two years later, in 2021, we have changed and it’s time for a reset, a transformation. One that represents all states and all of us.”
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