Thread by @DC1f525

1/23 Let’s talk about the #DCFlag. I am going to upset some people today. I don't like the DC Flag and here is why. cc @MayorBowser, @councilofdc, @charlesallen, @marycheh and @Nnamdikid. #DCStatehood #DCFlagDay #DChistory

2/23 Here is the modern narrative: The DC flag was designed by Charles Dunn, a local resident based on George Washington's coat of arms.

3/23 That's what @councilofdc was telling us on their website up until October 2018.

web.archive.org/web/2018100214…

4/23 Beautiful story but that's not totally accurate historically. Look at what really happened.

5/23 Two problems are left out with this narrative:
- The flag was selected by the Federal Government with no local representation or involvement.
- It is probably not George Washington's legitimate coat of arms.

6/23 If you want to read it all with details and reliable references and sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_W….

7/23 The Flag Commission was created by Act of Congress in 1938 to select a flag for DC with the help of the Commission of Fine Arts, a Federal Agency.
loc.gov/law/help/statu…

8/23 The Commission was composed of:
- Secretary of War
- Secretary of the Navy
- President of the Board of Commissioners of DC (Melvin C. Hazen)
Non were elected by the people but appointed by the President of the United-States to these positions.

9/23 A "design competition" was organized. Submissions were sent by many local residents. Supposedly, Charles Dunn's design who was a "finalist" along with the @todaysdar design.
chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn8304546…

10/23 Strangely when the final design was announced on October 15, 1938, there was no mention of any finalists.
chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn8304546…

11/23 The next day, the design explanation comes from Commissioner Hazen. He gives himself the credit along with Arthur E. Du Bois of the Quartermaster General's Office of the US Army.

chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn8304546…

12/23 Basically, what the Commission said that various people had the same idea but that Hazen would take the credit for finding the 1792 map with the coat of arms in the corner and the flag was put together by Du Bois based on that detail.

loc.gov/item/88694160/

13/23 Several local DC civic groups had asked to be part of the selection process but these requests were ignored.

chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn8304546…
chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn8304546…
chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn8304546…

14/23 After the announcement, many local residents were furious. The flag was a slap in the face for those fighting for representation at the time. DC residents couldn't even vote for the President who had appointed the Commission!
chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn8304546…
chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn8304546…

15/23 Dunn's claim as the creator only comes from his 1957 presentation to the Columbia Historical Society and the August article mention. The Commission did not recognize him as such in 1938.

jstor.org/stable/40067187

16/23 Regardless, his "creation" is debatable because of the pre-existing 1792 map which first links the coat of arms and the City. This brings us to the coat of arms itself.

17/23 The coat of arms we have on our DC flag belonged to Lawrence Washington (1566/68-1616) of Sulgrave Manor, Northampton, England. It was confirmed to him in 1592 by Robert Cook, the Clarenceux King of Arms at the time. The design was done by an English herald.

18/23 There is no such thing as "coat of arms for a surname" in English heraldry but Washington seemed to have been thinking that. You need to understand inheritance in #heraldry and genealogy. Here is a good article on this question:
blog.eogn.com/2016/06/14/pss…

19/23 George Washington was five generations removed from Lawrence. Two of his male ancestors were not the oldest of the siblings. He himself was not the oldest of his siblings and half-siblings.

20/23 Based on British law of arms and his genealogy, I don't think George Washington was the legitimate heir to the unaltered original coat of arms. In my opinion, he probably misused it without being aware of it and no one ever questioned it because of who he was and symbolizes

21/23 Don't get me wrong, the heraldic design is elegant but the history linking it to our city just doesn't fly. The selection ignored the people of DC at all stages and the "historical" link to our first President is a stretch.

22/23 @councilofdc, @New_Columbia and @51stDC when you use this flag to promote #DCStatehood, I have a really hard time making abstraction of these two issues. Don't get me started on @Douglass_County's flag. It's even worse than our current flag.

23/23 This is why I don't fly the flag and I hate having it on my license plate. This is also why it is not on my Twitter profile.

Here is an alternate #DCFlag design as described in 1924 in the Evening Star. 😁 🐐🍋

#DCFlagDay #DCStatehood

chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn8304546…

I am happy we are finally seeing this amazing design thanks to @councilofdc:

https://twitter.com/councilofdc/status/1139544629345431553?s=19