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Appalachia

Appalachian Alliance flag
Appalachian Glory flag
Appalachian Flag Initiative

See also:

Appalachian Alliance

image by Rick Wyatt, 28 August 2013
from Appalachian Alliance:

WHY a Flag of Appalachia? To represent the people of Appalachia, beyond politically imposed borders, and all its potential that is within its people. Appalachia is home to nearly 25 million people, as the borders are defined by the Appalachian Region Commission, that extends across the globe increasing the number of people from Appalachia exponentially. We proudly fly our flag, while telling the REAL story of Appalachia.

Color and symbol interpretation:

Blue - sky, unlimited vision and potential.
Brown / Red - earth, hard work, and deep roots, along with the blood and sweat of its people - the backbone of this nation's rise to a World power.
White Star - purity and guiding light to a rising future.
Green - triangle at the hoist signifying growth (both nature and human) with the Star on its way up the side of the slope - the slope signifies the hilly profile of Appalachia.

Design by Secundino Fernandez, NAVA

Rick Wyatt, 28 August 2013

Appalachian Glory flag

source: hillbillylandinthesky.blogspot.com

While searching for a possible flag for Berea College in Berea, Kentucky in the Appalachian region of the eastern united States, I encountered a blog belonging to a poet hitherto unknown to me named as David Wayne Hampden. When scrolling down this blog depicts a flag described as the Appalachian Flag.
hillbillylandinthesky.blogspot.com.
Ron Lahav, 12 March 2008

Here is the blog of the designer of the flag: Tennessee Jed
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 12 March 2008

Appalachian Flag Initiative

image located by David Sigley, 1 July 2023

A new Appalachian flag just dropped: https://appalachianflag.wordpress.com/

The Appalachian Flag Initiative is a grassroots cooperative working towards supporting the Appalachian regional identity through healthy and productive means, ensuring that all Appalachians are represented.
This banner was finalized in 2023 after over a year of discussion and contributions by Appalachians through online social media discussions, primarily through websites such as Reddit, Facebook, and Twitter. Through the year, the design slowly changed and morphed based off of aesthetic principle and community input.
Finally, this design was chosen from a list of 6 possible designs in an online vote taken by over 300 participants from Appalachian social media groups, receiving a vast majority of the votes. Following the vote, the design was placed under Creative Commons as to ensure the highest degree of ease of access is available to Appalachians interested in representing their region.

Color Scheme
* The green is representative of the lush forests that wraparound p the ancient mountains and the rural setting of the region.
* The navy blue is representative of the blue hue that colors the distant ridgelines that rest on the horizon while traveling through Appalachia.
* The gold is representative of the morning sun pouring out over the distant hills, indicative of a bright future for those who reside in these hills.
* The off-white of the quilt star motif is taken from the color of cloth, indicative of a blank canvas from which each Appalachian may draw their own colorful story.
* Altogether, the design forms a depiction of the beautiful mountain landscape that is distinctly unique to the Appalachian region.

Design Elements
* The quilt star is a symbol found throughout Appalachian arts and crafts, commonly seen on the facades of barns and in the construction of quilts in many Appalachian homes. the inclusion of this symbol is meant to symbolize the unique Appalachian people that reside within the mountains, with every rendition of the star being done in the artist's style and coloration, further including the diverse array of cultures, faces, and backgrounds in the Appalachian people.
* The horizontal construction of the flag is meant to convey the message of the overlapping scenes of the mountains on the horizon.
* The jagged peaks, while not common in much of Appalachia, are meant to convey a stronger symbol of mountains and match the quilt star's geometry.
* The rolling lines of the rolling hills flag is meant to be closer to the reality of the Appalachian mountains for many people, conveying the actual topography of these weathered ancient mountains that many of us call home.
* the broken color fragments of the mountain quilt is meant to convey the analogy of a quilt, a common craft that can be found throughout Appalachia.

David Sigley, 1 July 2023