Flags often imitate or are influenced by other nations, creating “flag families.” For example, the Netherlands’ red, white and blue flag from the 1500s set a precedent. “Peter the Great of ...

Flags often imitate or are influenced by other nations, creating “flag families.” For example, the Netherlands’ red, white and blue flag from the 1500s set a precedent.

Most flags started as banners to identify ships. And 452 years ago in the Netherlands, the world’s first red, white, and blue flag was adopted in 1660 by the Dutch Republic.

First created in 1997 by National Juneteenth Celebration Foundation founder Ben Haith, the banner is in red, white and blue of the U.S. flag to convey that all enslaved people and their ...