The Flag of the District of Columbia
Prepared by Mark David Richards, [email protected]
A Dream, Bureaucracy, Agitation, and a Flag
In their own little ways, DC citizens have always been dreaming about
and agitating for equal rights. In 1917, while working for a printing firm
on a flag book for the 48 states, Charles A. R. Dunn noticed there was no
flag for his DC home. In 1921 he sketched a design using George
Washington’s Coat of Arms, with three red stars above two red stripes on a
white field. At that time, the Voteless League was set up by former women’s
suffrage campaigners–they became the Voteless League of Women Voters of
DC. By 1924, there was "considerable agitation" for a DC flag.
The Evening Star printed Dunn’s drawings. The Fine Arts Commission
weighed in, saying a DC flag must emphasize that "DC is the seat of
the central government of all states." Dr. William Tindall of the DC
government pointed out that the 3 stars could be said to represent the 3
federal branches. The issue, unresolved, died down. But the drive for
rights did not. Theodore W. Noyes, in a nationwide WMAL radio address in
March 1929, asked "Will not every red-blooded American who hears me
tonight respond hopefully and vigorously to the District’s appeal for
political equality? How long, O Americans, must we of Washington be
compelled to say and to sing: ‘My county, ‘tis of thee Not land of
liberty, For District folks; Where rights for which the fathers died Are
now denied and crucified, Mock’d at as jokes’?"
A 1930s drive for Congressional voting rights and home rule led to a
flurry of articles and comics. The DC commissioners were called "a
national laughing stock," and the DC govt. an ineffective
"Adventure in Autocracy." In 1933, young African-American
college grads from the U Street community organized the New Negro
Alliance, demanding that businesses hire some people they served. They
picketed businesses and were arrested. It took until 1938 for
African-American lawyers to establish the legal right to picket by the
Supreme Court. Also in 1938, a Citizens’ Conference of 271 local
organizations financed a plebiscite with two questions—"[D]o you
want to vote for President and for members of Congress from the District
of Columbia?, and do you want to vote for officials of your own city
government in the District?" The District Suffrage League set up
voting places in 38 public schools, and on April 29th dressed up like Paul
Revere and paraded in the streets to publicize the event. 95,538 people
voted on April 30th, most supporting both measures. In June 1938, a Flag
Commission was created by Act of Congress to advise the Commission of Fine
Arts. A contest was announced. The Heraldic Division of the War Department
laid down rules. Dunn submitted his design. The Flag Commission couldn’t
decide between two designs, so they submitted both to the Commission on
Fine Arts. In October, a joint meeting of the 2 Commissions chose Dunn’s
design. Along with the US flag, DC could now fly their flag along with the
other 48. They gained an early symbol, but still no vote in their schools,
in their local government, nor in Congress. In 1961, Dunn said "I
think it is a good flag, and I am glad that an early dream of mine came
true."