In a 2004 survey by the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA, the continental authority on flags), Charleston ranks number 136 out of the 150 American cities that have flags.
At the top of the list are Denver, Chicago, Phoenix, and Washington, DC. Their flags are symbols of civic pride. On the opposite end, the only city flags that we beat are comical abominations like Provo, UT, Milwaukee, WI, and Pocatello, ID. In fact, Charleston, SC was 86 places behind Charleston, West Virginia. Cities that we might laugh at, like Springfield, IL, Casper, WY, and Grand Forks, ND, all managed to be dozens of places higher than Charleston.
And to add insult to injury, Columbia just managed to change its flag in February to something that is beyond what the city deserves. Their new flag is quite beautiful. It's worth noting that Provo, Utah changed its flag in 2015 to something much more appealing, too. So did Pocatello in 2015.
To prove that we can stand above such cities as Fort Wayne, IN, and Cleveland, Charleston needs to change its flag. Ours is a unique city, and deserves to be represented as such. We must raise above #136.