In order to give the great state of Arkansas an attractive flag that respects both its history and its residents, I propose the following flag redesign. These modest yet significant changes to the existing flag allows it to thoroughly represent its history and heritage while avoiding any glorification of the Confederacy, Arkansas's former membership in the Confederacy, slavery, or racism.

The three following changes were made:

1) Elimination of the "Arkansas" text.

2) (optional) Red field changed to green. While this is not completely necessary, the blue diamond outline with embedded stars on a red field is reminiscent of the Confederate battle flag (the diamond is just the inverse of the Confederate cross). However, the usage of the diamond layout and the twenty-five stars is highly symbolic of Arkansas's history, and makes for a very unique, distinctive, and attractive design. To "unconfederate" the flag while preserving its beautiful aesthetics, the field was changed from Confederate red to a natural green. The now green field sufficiently represents Arkansas as "The Natural State," including its abundant park and wilderness areas, mountains, caves, and the Ozarks. 

3) Reorientation of the stars are the key adjustments. The leftmost star on the hoist symbolizes the United States, while the other two stars represent Spain and France—nations which Arkansas had belonged to in its history. Notably, the blue stars are purposefully positioned at the corners of the diamond, drawing attention to the absence of a fourth blue star, symbolizing the Confederacy. This deliberate void, coupled with its placement on the fly side, serves as a poignant acknowledgment of Arkansas's historical secession from the United States and its subsequent inclusion in the Confederate States. Simultaneously, it signifies Arkansas's journey towards a more inclusive and promising future, distancing itself from its tainted past, especially that of slavery and its participation in the Confederacy. This design both acknowledges Arkansas's history--including its previous membership in the CSA--without glorifying its brief Confederate membership. On the contrary, it symbolizes that Arkansas can acknowledge and learn from its tainted history of slavery and racism without glorifying it.

4) (an alternative to 3) Revert back to the original / 1913 flag

If you support this any of these flag redesigns, please sign and share this petition :)

(I believe these simple changes are sufficient to make the already meaningful and handsome flag even more visually pleasing and "unconfederated." However, the flag's colors or diamond shape can be adjusted further as well if it is deemed that the flag needs to lose even more resemblance to the Confederate battle flag.)

 

Main proposed redesign

 

 

 

 

Variant with Red field maintained:

 

 

 

 

Similar flag redesign proposal / petition from Jesse Grylls, featuring an upside-down blue star to represent (and condemn) the Confederacy, and a center red star for Arkansas itself:

 

 

 

 

 

Original / 1913 Flag: