Cover
Front Matter
The African Dimension to the National Flag of Jamaica
Curtis Jacobs, Scholar of Caribbean history and culture
In 1962, Jamaica was granted independent sovereign realm status from Great Britain. One of the most visible symbols of the newly-independent nation was the new national flag. The Jamaican flag has been understood as a derivation of the British Union Jack, with a different colour scheme. This paper argues that there is another, parallel meaning and symbolism to the Jamaica national flag based in the symbology of the Akan people of Ghana and Ivory Coast..
"Convoluted Iconography Notwithstanding": Competing Interpretations of Flag Use during the Immigration Protests of 2006
Steven A. Knowlton, Librarian for History and African American Studies at Princeton University
Protests against proposed immigration laws arose in cities across the United States during the spring of 2006. Many of the attendees were Latino, and waved flags. At first, flags of Mexico and other Latin American countries were displayed. Following negative reactions in the media, protest organizers asked rallygoers to fly the U.S. flag alongside or instead of the flags of Latin American countries. This article traces the history of flag-flying at these immigration protests, analyzes the motives of those displaying flags, and discusses the reaction to the display of Latin American flags. The disputed meanings imputed to the use of flags by the protesters and those who objected to the use of the flags is discussed in terms of symbolic conflict.
“The Sign Their Banners Bore”: The Pine Tree Flag in the American Revolution
Peter Ansoff, retired acquisition support contractor for the U.S. Navy
The so-called “Pine Tree Flag”, with a white field displaying a pine tree and the “Appeal to Heaven” motto, is part of the traditional pantheon of American Revolutionary War flags. Like many such flags, its actual history has been distorted by misunderstandings and mythology. This paper examines the primary sources for the flag, and sets the flag in its historical context. In particular, it summarizes the history of the best-documented individual example of the Pine Tree Flag, and includes some related preliminary research on flags used by the Massachusetts State Navy during the Revolutionary War. A brief appendix compares the images used on modern reproductions of the flag with typical 18th-century depictions of pine trees.
End Matter
Color Plates
Scott D. Mainwaring, Ph.D., editor
Editorial Board:
Perry Dane, J.D., Rutgers University
Scot M. Guenter, Ph.D., San José State University
Steven A. Knowlton, MLIS, MA, Princeton University
Anne M. Platoff, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara
Kenneth W. Reynolds, Ph.D., Department of National Defence (Canada)
Raven is a benefit of membership in NAVA.