Last modified: 2015-02-01 by rick wyatt
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image by Tomislav Todorovic, 7 September 2013
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American Falangist Party (AFP) was founded in 1985 as the Christian Falangist Party of America (CFPA). A party of the Christian right, it strongly supported the cause of Lebanese Christians, whose political movements - namely, Lebanese Phalanx and Lebanese Forces - it claimed to have been modelled after. In 1998, the party was renamed into the American Falangist Party and partly remodelled after the Spanish Falangist/Phalangist movements, while rejecting (at least nominally) not only their totalitarianism, but also the racism and the Holocaust denial, which these had included into their ideology long before. The AFP also listed Italian Fascists, as they were before their alliance with Hitler, Fatherland Front of the pre-Anschluss Austria and the Peronists of Argentina as its models. The longer name, National Syndical American Falangist Party (NSAFP), can be tracked back to early 2000, but was always used along with the shorter one, so it is not quite clear which one was official. In November 2000, the AFP/NSAFP announced its reorganization and the halt to new members accepting, and in December same year, the founding of a new Christian Falangist Party of America was announced at its site. This new party was obviously meant to replace the AFP/NSAFP, although some of the members seem to have maintained the old party for a few years: the party website existed until the April 2004, its content remaining the same, but with some visual redesignings during that time.
Sources:
AFP website at the Internet Archive - history of CFPA/AFP (saved on 2001-06-13)
AFP website at the Internet Archive - FAQ (saved on 2000-03-06)
AFP website at the Internet Archive - the party reorganization announcement (saved on 2000-11-10)
AFP website at the Internet Archive - founding of the new CFPA announced (saved on 2004-12-04)
AFP website at the Internet Archive - the last saved homepage (on 2004-04-23)
Tomislav Todorovic, 7 September 2013
Before the renaming of 1998, the Christian Falangist Party of America used the pointed, voided cross borrowed from the Lebanese Forces. The use of this symbol on flags was not detected so far, nor was the use of any flags at all. After the renaming, the AFP adopted black flag with red yoke and arrows, similar to the one which was adopted in 2000 by the Falange Boricua in Puerto Rico and the one adopted by the Venezuelan Phalanx in 2002 so it could easily be the original model for these two flags. The flag images were showing the yoke openings in white, as were the images of the stand-alone emblem, since their earliest appearance on the Web. This error, which was never corrected, must have been result of the neglect while creating the image from an original which must have had red yoke and arrows on white background. Existing images of the emblem with a transparent background and yoke openings in white seem to confirm that. Party name initials, which were sometimes added to the emblem, seem to have never appeared on the flag. The stand-alone emblem was sometimes depicted without the yoke openings, as well as with white or yellow/gold fimbriation, none of these details having been verified on the flag either.
Sources:
AFP website at the Internet Archive - party presentation (saved on 1999-08-22)
AFP website at the Internet Archive - site index (saved on 1999-10-13)
AFP website at the Internet Archive - image of the party emblem
Tomislav Todorovic, 7 September 2013
The flag might have been designed by Patricio Cortes Bridges, a.k.a. Pat Bridges, one of party founders and its President 1990-2000, under whose leadership, and at his initiative, the party was modelled after the Spanish Phalanx. The use of the Lebanese Forces' symbol before the party transformation of 1998 might have also been his idea, because the symbols of the Christian Falangist Party of America, the next organization he founded, are clearly derived from this, so he seems to have designed these as well, or have been much involved in their designing.
Tomislav Todorovic, 6 October 2013
image by Tomislav Todorovic, 7 September 2013
In February 2003, a new version of party emblem, with the yoke terminating in wings, has appeared at the party website. Its image, clearly flag-like, has also had the yoke openings erroneously painted, this time in gold; the error was repeated at some other details as well. The image was appearing on the website until its shutdown in April 2004, but the images of old emblem were used as well. This emblem was also sometimes depicted without the yoke openings and with a white fimbriation. What suggests that this design was also meant to be the new party flag, is the picture gallery of the party, hosted at Flickr, where the image of red yoke and arrows on black field is described as the "original flag of NSAFP", while the similar image of winged yoke and arrows is described simply as the "symbol of the American Falange" - word "original" would be needless if the flag was not replaced with another one.
Sources:
AFP website at the Internet Archive - site index (saved on 2003-02-07)
AFP website at the Internet Archive - site index (saved on 2004-04-23)
NSAFP picture gallery at Flickr
Tomislav Todorovic, 7 September 2013
This design is less likely to have been designed by Pat Bridges, because it appeared after he had left the party, although it is not impossible that it was created before his leaving. However, he seems to have been maintaining good relations with his previous party, as has happened several times later in his life, and was also close to several other American far-right organizations whose member he might or might not have been, but might have been involved in creations of their symbols as well. The possibility that he created this emblem/flag shall consequently not be completely dismissed.
Tomislav Todorovic, 6 October 2013
