Outspoken singer Macy Gray has outlined one important step in improving racial anxiety in the country: changing the American flag. In an op-ed published to MarketWatch for Juneteenth, Gray referred to the flag as “tattered, dated, divisive, and incorrect” before presenting her own updated version of the flag that better represents all members of society with emphasis on the minority struggle.
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“Like the Confederate, it is tattered, dated, divisive, and incorrect. It no longer represents democracy and freedom. It no longer represents ALL of us.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,” Gray wrote. By evoking images of the January 6th insurrection, where participants were draped in American flags, Gray wrote directly to politicians and patriots who never want to see a democratic attack like that happen again. She explained that those who would’ve previously used the Confederate flag to display their overt racism now use the American flag to hide malicious intent behind false patriotism.
The new flag that the singer designed maintains the original template of the American flag though with some minor changes. Gray’s flag has 52 white stars instead of 50 in conjunction with Puerto Rico and Washington D.C.’s continued failed attempts at becoming states, which she explained carried discriminatory undertones.
“There are 50, where there should be 52. D.C. and Puerto Rico have been lobbying for statehood for decades. Both have been denied, since statehood would allow each territory’s elected officials seats in the house,” she wrote. “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. That alone is racist.”
The stars on Gray’s proposed flag are multicolored and represents the melanin scale to represent “your skin tone and mine.” Finally, the white stripes that represent purity are changed to an off-white as a reminder of the country’s racist past.
Suffice it to say, Gray’s take on the flag brought on very mixed reactions. Do you think the flag needs to be updated? Is Gray’s flag the one we need?