Red, black, and gold — or red, black, and green? These two flags are often confused, but they were created 47 years apart, by different movements, to say different things. Here's how to tell them apart, and when to fly each.
Walk through any Black History Month celebration and you may see two different flags flying side by side: one with bold red, black, and green horizontal bands — and one in red and black, carrying a golden sword wrapped in a wreath. Many people assume they're versions of the same flag. They're not.
They were created 47 years apart, by different movements, for different — though deeply related — purposes. Understanding the difference isn't pedantry; it's a short course in a century of Black identity.
The two flags at a glance
| Pan-African Flag | Black American Heritage Flag | |
|---|---|---|
| Created | 1920 | 1967 |
| Creators | Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), led by Marcus Garvey | Melvin Charles & Gleason T. Jackson, Newark, NJ |
| Colors | Red, black, green (horizontal bands) | Red and black, with gold emblem |
| Central symbol | None — the bands are the message | Blunted gold sword in a fig-leaf wreath |
| Represents | Unity of the entire African diaspora worldwide | The specific heritage of Black Americans |
| Also called | UNIA flag, Garvey flag, RBG, Afro-American flag | Black Heritage Flag |
The Pan-African flag: a diaspora united (1920)
The Pan-African flag was adopted in 1920 by the Universal Negro Improvement Association at its convention in New York, under the leadership of Marcus Garvey. Its three horizontal bands each carry a meaning: red for the blood that unites all people of African ancestry, black for the people themselves, and green for the natural wealth of Africa.
Its scope is intentionally global. The Pan-African flag speaks for the entire diaspora — from Lagos to London to Los Angeles — as one family with one origin. It is a flag of unity across borders.
The Black American Heritage Flag: a nation within a nation (1967)
Nearly five decades later, Melvin Charles and Gleason T. Jackson asked a narrower and, in its way, harder question: what about the specifically American Black experience? The Middle Passage, slavery, Reconstruction, the Great Migration, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement — a history that belongs to Black Americans alone.
Their answer used a different palette and a different language. Red for blood shed on American soil; black for pride in identity; and — where the Pan-African flag uses green for the African homeland — gold, for intellect, prosperity, and peace earned in America. At the center they placed a blunted sword and fig-leaf wreath: strength under control, encircled by endurance. Every element is explained in our complete guide to the flag's meaning.
Not rivals — chapters of the same story
It's tempting to frame the flags as competitors. History says otherwise. The Pan-African flag answers "where do we come from?" The Black American Heritage Flag answers "what did we live, build, and become here?" One is the flag of a global family; the other is the flag of one branch's particular journey.
Many families and institutions fly both — the RBG for roots, the Heritage Flag for the American chapter. There is no contradiction in that. There is, in fact, a whole curriculum in it.
What about the Juneteenth flag?
A third banner completes the picture: the Juneteenth flag, created in 1997 by activist Ben Haith. It deliberately uses red, white, and blue — the American colors — with a bursting star, to declare that the descendants of enslaved people are, fully and unapologetically, Americans. Where the Heritage Flag carries Black identity in its own colors, the Juneteenth flag plants Black freedom inside the national palette. Different rhetoric; same dignity.
Which flag should you fly?
Whichever tells the story you mean to tell — and ideally, with its meaning taught alongside it:
Fly the Pan-African flag to honor global African unity and the Garveyite tradition. Fly the Black American Heritage Flag to honor the specific journey of Black Americans — at Black History Month programs, graduations, reunions, and classrooms. Fly the Juneteenth flag each June 19th to mark emancipation itself. Or fly them together, and let the questions they raise become the conversation they were designed to start.
Looking for an authentic, well-made Heritage Flag? Our independent product reviews compare the options honestly — and our history page covers how the 1967 original spread nationwide.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Black American Heritage Flag and the Pan-African flag the same?
No. The Pan-African flag (1920, red-black-green bands) represents the unity of the entire African diaspora, while the Black American Heritage Flag (1967, red and black with a gold sword and wreath) represents the specific history and identity of Black Americans.
What do the Pan-African flag's colors mean?
Red stands for the blood that unites all people of African ancestry, black for the people themselves, and green for the natural wealth and land of Africa. It was adopted by the UNIA under Marcus Garvey in 1920.
Why does the Black American Heritage Flag use gold instead of green?
Where the Pan-African flag's green points to the African homeland, the Heritage Flag's gold represents the intellect, prosperity, and peace of Black Americans — reflecting its focus on the American chapter of the story.
Can you fly both flags together?
Yes — many families, schools, and institutions fly both. The Pan-African flag honors global African roots while the Black American Heritage Flag honors the distinct Black American journey; they are complementary, not competing, symbols.
What is the difference between the Heritage Flag and the Juneteenth flag?
The Juneteenth flag (1997, by Ben Haith) uses red, white, and blue with a bursting star to celebrate emancipation and assert Black Americans' place in the nation, while the Heritage Flag (1967) expresses Black American identity in its own red, black, and gold symbolism.