Minnesota is FINALLY getting the job of redesigning the flag done. This has been a long time coming folks. We've been talking about doing it for years. It has been proposed for YEARS. How do I know? I have taught MN history fairly consistently for 25 years. We do a MN project every year. Every year the kids complain about our flag and our state seal when they get to that part of the project. Together we look up, EVERY year, when our flag going to be updated. One of the parts of their project is even to design a new state flag for MN. So yeah, this isn't something the new "woke" Minnesotans came up with - no matter what you're posting or reading on Facebook. It's been in the works for a while.
Some folks are all in a tizzy about change. Sigh. Is there ever going to be a time when forward thinking people are okay with change? I feel like the answer is no. I wonder if the other times the flag was changed (what it hasn't been the same since 1858?!!), there was such an uproar. The screams of "you aren't changing my flag - it's our HERITAGE" are flying all over the social media platforms. Okay. I'm a history teacher so I get preserving history. This is one area where it's really okay to look at updating a few things. For a few reasons. First of all - the heritage question. Which heritage or tradition are you upset about losing off of the flag?
Take the stump for instance - a symbol of the lumber industry that helped build our state. A lumber industry that wiped out our great white pine forests. When some of the first explorers visited Minnesota they observed our vast timber resources and said that they could never be wiped out. Then the lumber companies came in and did it in as little as 70 years. This is the same lumber industry that piled record numbers of deadfall all over the central to northern part of the state, causing vast wildfires. This would be including the Great Hinckley Fire that caused 418 deaths. But hey - it's our HERITAGE, it's tradition! How dare we take that off the flag.
Oh and let's not forget the wonderful image of the Native American being chased out of our state. We for sure want everyone who sees our flag to remember what we did to our Native American people. I mean, who cares about their heritage right? It's about the people who lied to the Dakota, "bought" their lands through treaties and gave them none of what was promised. OH! Maybe we want to make sure everyone remembers how we had the largest mass execution in American history when we pushed through the trials of the Dakota warriors from the Dakota War and sentenced over 300 of them to death. I use the word "trials" loosely as any average historian can reread those transcripts and see they weren't actual attempts to find the truth. Even President Lincoln, who was smack dab in the middle of trying to win the Civil War knew that wasn't right and stepped in to prevent this mass murder. In the end, 38 Dakota warriors were hung. I could go on about that but do your own research and read the history of our state. Maybe you won't want to see that part of our "heritage" celebrated and preserved either.
Even if you take all of the history out of it - look at the seal/flag. It's complicated, fussy, too detailed and cluttered. It has it's place in history but meets almost NONE of the tenets of a good flag design. I borrowed these from this website: https://www.nava.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=622278&module_id=475721
The Five Principles are:
Keep It Simple. The flag should be so simple that a child can draw it from memory.
Our old flag design was the OPPOSITE of simple. Ask any of my former sixth graders - it is not easy to draw even copying it, much less from memory.
2. Use Meaningful Symbolism. The flag's images, colors, or patterns should relate to what it symbolizes.
Hey! We got one. Or many. Many many many symbols all over that sucker. So many symbols.
3. Use 2 or 3 Basic Colors. Limit the number of colors on the flag to three which contrast well and come from the standard color set.
Well - as you can clearly see from our flag above.... not so much.
4. No Lettering or Seals. Never use writing of any kind or an organization's seal.
Oops....
5. Be Distinctive or Be Related. Avoid duplicating other flags, but use similarities to show connections.
This last one was an epic fail on Minnesota's part. Sixteen other states have a blue flag with some sort of similar seal or design in the middle of the flag. It's not just similar to flags from other states, it's almost impossible to tell apart from a few of them. Especially at any kind of distance.
Here's the real kicker folks. Some people are still sharing a design revision from a couple of revisions ago. Some people are complaining that never submitted a design (and there were thousands). Some people are complaining and venting mistruths on social media, but haven't done the work to contact their representatives who will actually vote on the design. (It is not final yet despite everyone saying it is.) Some people are spreading the misinformation that it is similar to Somalia's flag without taking two seconds to look up that THIS is Somalia's flag....
The flag that people were using was actually a state flag from Somalia. But just share share share without checking facts. There were also a lot of differences between that version of the MN state flag proposal (which is not the final choice) and that Somalian state flag. Of course that's just neither here nor there - people don't care about actual facts.
The old flag looks like something a grandma lovingly crafted with ribbons and flowers, lots of ribbons and flowers. I'm guessing you wouldn't decorate your home to look like something from the 80's, but hey - maybe the wood paneling, floral couch is right up your alley. Whatever your reasoning, if you liked it - contact your state legislators and make your voice heard.
Lastly.... I'm going to leave you with the words of the actual flag designer. A man from MN who put a lot of thought and research into his flag design and was chosen from the thousands of submissions. Even though it has since been modified from the three stripe design to a solid blue... it's a nice upgrade for Minnesota.
Statement from Andrew Prekker, Luverne December 19, 2023
The last few days have been surreal for me. Very few things make me speechless in life, but this is one of those moments where it’s hard to express the sheer gratitude and amazement I’ve felt at this whole opportunity.Among the many emotions I’m feeling, the strongest are a sense of honor, privilege, excitement, and gratitude. It's such a rare privilege to be able to contribute to our state’s history in such a special way like this. And I’m so proud to be able to say I helped design the new Minnesotan state flag! It’s an achievement that I hope brings a lot of unity and pride to our land, and I will hold that fact with great honor for the rest of my life.It is my greatest hope that this new flag can finally represent our state and all its people properly. That every Minnesotan of every background —including the Indigenous communities and tribal nations who’ve been historically excluded— can look up at our flag with pride and honor, and see themselves within it.I’m so grateful to the committee who chose my design. I put in many hours of hard work, research, passion, revisions, and asking advice, all to try and create the best possible flag I could. And knowing that the committee (and Minnesotans in general) recognize my flag as something special, means the world to me.Thanks to every single person who has shown me support. Your enthusiasm, passion, and kindness has made this whole experience all the more special.
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