The Black American Heritage Flag represents the pride and accomplishments of Black Americans. But it is even more than that.

At its best, flags can be powerful symbols. Flags can represent pride, hope, resilience, history, and the future. At the worst, they are symbols of hate and can incite fear and trigger trauma.

I made my flag because I felt that they needed one like the U.S. flag but with black stars instead of white ones.” Hammons was born in Springfield, Illinois, in 1943.