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As Juneteenth is nationally recognized as a federal holiday, Grammy award-winning singer Macy Gray has more thoughts on how America can move forward — starting with its flag — and become more inclusive of its residents.
The 53-year-old singer said that while the Confederate flag is now seen less than it once was, the symbolism behind it — one that speaks to the “opposition of the abolishment of slavery” — reigns now more than ever through the American flag. An example she highlighted was as the world watched back in January when Pro-Trump protesters stormed the capital while waving our flag, MarketWatch reported.
Speaking to the President, Vice President and Congress directly, Gray wrote, “the American flag has been hijacked as code for a specific belief. God bless those believers, they can have it. 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 It no longer represents democracy and freedom. It no longer represents ALL of us.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.”
She went onto emphasize her stance by outlining why the stars and stripes of our current flag were problematic symbols that don’t accurately reflect the country as it is today. According to the “Do Something” songstress, the fact that D.C. and Puerto Rico have been denied statehood for decades and aren’t included in the number of total stars represented on the flag is “racist.”
“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,” Gray wrote. Regarding the stripes, she continued, “The Smithsonian documents that the ‘white’ stripes represent purity and innocence. America is great. It is beautiful. Pure, it ain’t. It is broken and in pieces.”
“What if the stripes were OFF-white? What if there were 52 stars to include D.C. and Puerto Rico? What if the stars were the colors of ALL of us — your skin tone and mine — like the melanin scale?” the singer wondered. “The blue square represents vigilance and perseverance; and the red stripes stand for valor. America is all of those things. So, what if those elements on the flag remained? What if the flag looked like this?”
Roughly, 62 years after the most current iteration of the flag was designed, Gray emphasized that “in 2021, we have changed and it’s time for a reset, a transformation. One that represents all states and all of us.”
