The Slate's Adam Beam drew Pennsylvania's state flag from memory.
Minnesota’s State Emblems Redesign Commission finalized a new flag design last month after months of work with over 2,600 design submissions online. This new design trades Minnesota’s state seal on a blue field for a simplistic design that resembles the state itself along with an eight-point North Star and a light blue block to the right.
The competition for a new flag design occurred after criticisms on the current design: a busy state seal depicting a pioneer with a rifle and a Native American with a spear on horseback. Mike Freiberg, a state lawmaker, described it as “a cluttered genocidal mess.”
The new flag will become official on May 11, 2024, Minnesota’s Statehood Day.
Similar sentiments of a new state flag have been echoed in our Commonwealth. Joe Webster (PA House District 150), proposed a bill in June that would see a redesign of Pennsylvania’s state flag.
In a memorandum, the Montgomery County Democrat claimed that “many would struggle” to identify Pennsylvania’s flag among comparably designed state flags. “The Pennsylvania state flag is one of twenty state flags that features a seal on a blue background,” Webster said.
Minnesota’s old flag featured a seal on a blue background.
When asked by The Slate what the Pennsylvania state flag looks like, most Shippensburg University students interviewed could not correctly describe it. While some students thought maybe the Liberty Bell was featured on the flag, one student thought our flag has a bear on it. The California state flag depicts a bear.
The North American Vexillological Association, which Webster cites in his memorandum, outlines five principles of a good flag: keep it simple, use meaningful symbolism, use two or three basic colors, avoid lettering or seals and be distinctive or related.
Webster believes that the Pennsylvania state flag does not embrace these standards that have been laid out by the “World’s Largest Organization of Flag Enthusiasts and Scholars.” Vexillology, a term coined in 1957 by scholar Whitney Smith, is the study of flags.
Created over 100 years ago by the General Assembly, Pennsylvania’s current state flag features the state coat of arms on a field of blue.
According to Webster, “Pennsylvania's flag should be recognizable and functional as a symbol of the Commonwealth, and it should stand out from other states while utilizing good flag principles.”
Webster aims to establish the Pennsylvania State Flag Commission which will study the history of the state flag, solicit submissions for a new state flag and recommend changes to the current flag, similar to the way Minnesota oversaw its flag change with a bill adopted this spring by its state legislature.
“Pennsylvanians deserve a state flag they can be proud of,” Webster said.
The Slate welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.