N.C. state flag deserves our respectful consideration

North Carolina’s state flag is both patriotic and distinctive, but is it the best it can be?

On the hoist side lies a blue vertical band with the state’s initials in yellowish-gold and a white star separating them. A red horizontal band on the top and a white horizontal band on the bottom of the flag complete the overall look.

 

Two accent yellowish-gold ribbons above and below the “N” and “C” contain the dates of May 20, 1775 (Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence) and April 12, 1776 (Halifax Resolves). 

These events were considered the first official statements from one of the colonies in opposition to British rule. 

However, there is some question about the flag’s accuracy related to the “Meck Dec,” as Dr. Daniel Fountain calls it. He’s a history professor at Meredith College in Raleigh. “The Meck Dec doesn’t exist in a physical form,” he said.

Dr. Daniel Fountain

 

“The so-called Mecklenburg Declaration is regarded by most historians as a spurious document, because there is no such document,” added Dr. Jeffrey Crow, former deputy secretary of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.

 Dr. Jeffrey Crow

That could present a big problem. The Meck Dec date also appears on the state seal, so any “alterations” would be extensive and quite expensive, Dr. Fountain indicated. 

Setting accuracy aside, the appearance of North Carolina’s flag gets a middle-of-the-pack “wave review” from the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA). 

NAVA recommends no lettering on flags. Ted Kaye, the association’s spokesperson, says: “If you need to write the name of what you’re representing on your flag, your symbolism has failed.” 

“If you want to design a good flag, start by drawing a 1-inch by 1.5-inch rectangle on a piece of paper. Your design has to work within that tiny rectangle,” according to Kaye. 

“A 3-foot by 5-foot flag on a pole 100 feet away looks about the same size as a 1-inch by 1.5-inch rectangle, seen about 15 inches from your eye. You’d be surprised at how compelling and simple the design can be when you hold yourself to that limitation,” he said.

That little exercise might give cause for the ribbon treatments to disappear completely from the North Carolina state flag, eliminating the display of the historic dates. It’s a form of de-cluttering. 

On the other hand, removing the state initials would leave the Tar Heel state flag with a lone star on a blue field…looking a lot like the flag of Texas.

 

Among the original 13 states, NAVA favors the designs of the flags for Rhode Island and South Carolina. 

Both are simple, attractive, classy and clean. 

Rhode Island’s white flag features a gold anchor in the center surrounded by 13 gold stars that represent both the original 13 colonies and Rhode Island’s role as the 13th state to ratify the Constitution. 

A dark blue a ribbon below the anchor contains the state’s motto, “Hope.”

 

South Carolina’s deep blue flag has only two elements – a white palm tree in the center and a white crescent in the upper left corner. To this day, there is a debate about the image of the palm and whether the crescent is the moon, a gorget or a “who cares?”