CLEVELAND — What’s your favorite aspect of the current flag of Cleveland? Is it the daring red white and blue color choice? The elegant laurel? The anvil, the windlass and the grist mill or whatever this is? The bold slogan that has seemed cruelly ironic at times? It’s a real Tour De Force.
But believe it or not, there are some Clevelanders who remain uncharmed by this flag, which was created in 1895 by an 18 year old named Susan Hepburn and has been serving as our official symbol ever since.
But bad news, Susie: These guys are coming for your flag.
Locals Josh Harkleroad and Brian Lachman are heading up the CLE Flag Project, with a mission to research, commission, and introduce a new city flag. An updated symbol that better embodies the spirit of our town. They say that they've found many consider the current flag outdated, if they were even aware of its existence to begin with.
"Nobody knows what it is," said Lachman. "Most of our feedback through talking to people and surveying the community was that it's just not an effective flag. [The existing flag,] it's the past....That was Cleveland over a hundred years ago. And we need a flag that's going to take the test of time where it's present now and it's going to be present in the future and symbolic and representative of the city."
And let me tell you, these guys are taking this project seriously, even enlisting the help of NAVA, Nava, the North American Vexillological Association.
"We've talked to them and they've kind of explained what makes a good flag. They actually created a book called Good Flag, Bad Flag," Harkleroad explained. [The book] talks about keeping it simple. The dewer colors, the better, the fewer symbols, the better. No words, no nothing overly ornate. So our flag kind of fails many of those tests."
Unlike in 1895, when an 18-year-old girl hogged all the glory, now we ALL have a chance to contribute to this flag.
"We're looking to the community of Greater Cleveland to submit flag designs," Lachman explained. "We want everybody's feedback. We want people to get engaged with this. Kids, adults, artists, designers, the average Joe, this is a grassroots project being run by volunteers."
But apparently, they will not be incorporating some of the more overused Cleveland symbols.
"Things that we're not really wanting to see on the flag...things like the Rock Hall, the Guardians statues...those are little too complicated and a little too specific for a flag design," Harkleroad said. "We want simple shapes like stars, like waves, that sort of thing to represent kind of what Cleveland is as a whole."
Of course. For me, any new Cleveland flag that doesn’t feature Bernie Kosar and a Slyman’s Corned Beef sandwich would be a travesty, but all I can do is make the suggestion and trust the process.
But how exactly will this work? Well, a dedicated committee of local leaders, design experts, and community representatives takes on the task of carefully reviewing each entry. Following the committee's deliberations, a selection of top flag designs will be presented to the public for a democratic vote, and Clevelanders will have the opportunity to weigh in and help choose the flag that best represents their city.
Developing a new symbol that represents an entire city is a tall order. But, as Lachman told me, the time does seem right for an updated flag: one that doesn’t feature antiquated shipyard technology.
"Cleveland is in its renaissance. Cleveland is in its renaissance stage. We're embracing that and the progress within the city and we want to have that symbol as we move forward. We need to fly something with pride."
Flag submissions will be accepted until July 19th, 2024. Second and third place winners will receive a $1,000 cash prize, while the winner will receive a $3,000 cash prize. To learn more about the submission and selection process, as well as project timeline, visit the CLE FLAG project here.
