Pan-African Flag Raised By Public Works Department of City of Poughkeepsie For Black History Month 2026

The City of Poughkeepsie shared a video of their Public Works Department raising the Pan-African flag for Black History Month. They said: “On February 5th, our Department of Public Works staff proudly hung the Pan-African Flag to recognize and honor Black History Month. We celebrate the resilience and contributions of the Black Community that we so deeply value in our City and beyond.”

The Pan-African flag (also known as the Afro-American flag, Black Liberation flag and UNIA flag), was created in 1920 in response to racism against African Americans with the help of Marcus Garvey, according to Wikipedia, as a way to build and feel unity.

The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIQ-ACL) adopted it on August 13, 1920. The colors - red, black and green - were described by The Universal Negro Catechism, published by the UNIA in 1921, as meaning:

"Red is the color of the blood which men must shed for their redemption and liberty;
Black is the color of the noble and distinguished race to which we belong;
Green is the color of the luxuriant vegetation of our Motherland."

In February 2023, the U.S. General Services Administration rose the Pan-African flag, saying: “A historic and important event for GSA and the federal government took place at the Denver Federal Center on Wednesday, Feb. 1, to kick off Black History Month. GSA Region 8 employees raised the Pan-African flag over a federal facility for the first time signifying the important contributions of Black Americans - including Black federal employees - to the nation.”

Martin Luther King Jr. said of Marcus Garvey in 1965: "[Garvey] was the first man of color to lead and develop a mass movement. He was the first man to give millions of Negroes a sense of dignity and destiny on a mass scale and level. And he was the first man to make the Negro feel that he was somebody."