With recent events, Afro-Americans have been more vocal about their disdain for the American flag. Some feeling excluded, while others not wanting to claim a flag that is a symbol of their oppression. That is why today, I am asking you to sign this petition in hopes of the Unicode Consortium approving the Pan-African flag emoji to be added to the emoji keyboard. Afro-Americans deserve a flag to represent themselves.

A few comments from my Afro-American Instagram followers on why they do not feel comfortable repping the American flag:

❝ I’m not officially American but I am attempting to become one. I feel more connected to this place than I do to my home country + I’ve been here for about 19 years. I used to decorate my room with the USA flag when I was younger but now that I’m older and wiser? The flag doesn’t hold the same mysticism in my eyes. It doesn’t feel right to love a place that seems to hate every part of me and those like me.❞

❝ Because every single renovation of that flag was made without my freedom in mind.❞

❝ The flag has never stood for my people. America has and continues to do way too much hurt to Black people for me to ever proudly rep them. They don’t like us. They barely listen to us unless we act out in anger and neglect. Sh*t they tolerate our existence at most. I’m lowkey jealous of everyone else ‘cause I really wanna rep a flag so badly but I can’t.❞

❝ I feel like it has never represented Americans as a whole. Black Americans, poor Americans, disabled Americans, LGBTQ+ Americans, all encompassing, etc. And the people who rep that flag so bad always have some sort of bigotry against us minority groups, so naturally we’ll feel ostracized. I think it’s been time for a change in representation.❞

❝ It’s supposed to represent freedom and unity, I don’t feel free & we’re damn sure not united, f*ck the flag.❞

❝ So many White Americans recently have taken American patriotism as White nationalism after feeling attacked after Kaepernick’s (right & correct) protest. Because they (wrongly) see it as an attack on America and it’s flag, white supremacists have rallied behind the flag as a shield.❞

❝ I don’t like the US. Plus it’s ugly. No bars at all.❞