3rd Year State Holiday
and
285th year Negro Election Day
ANNUAL FLAG RAISING
Flag Raising
July 18, 2025
Citywide & County wide flag Raising
Time: 12:00 p.m. (EST)
Riley Plaza
1-21 Margin Street, Salem, MA 01970
The Black American Heritage flag, designed in 1967 by Melvin Charles and Gleason T. Jackson, military veterans. will fly for Negro Election Day 285th year. Come out and celebrate with us.
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Flag Raising Program:
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-Opening song: National Black Anthem
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Opening Remarks from tba
-tba, Community Participant
-TBA:
Speaker
TBA
Member of Salem United Inc.
- Raising of the flag - Music recorded by Ray Charles, America The Beautiful.
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- C e r me o n y C o n c l u d e s
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July 19, 2025
Negro Election Day Flag Raising
Time: 10:00 p.m. (EST)
Salem Willows Park
165 Fort Avenue, Salem, MA 01970
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Flag Raising Program:
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Negro Election Day
Saturday July 19th, 2025
10:30 pm
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The Clergy will open the program in prayer and say a few words of welcome.
M.C. will Introduce singer.
-Opening song: National Black Anthem
PRESENTATION OF THE AMERICAN FLAG TO THE CITY OF SALEM MA
- Flag Presentation ceremony; will present flag by TBA to City Official
City Official (TBA)
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They will all raise flags.
1 Black American heritage Flag of 1967
The music “The National Black Anthem” will play as flag is being raised.
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- C e r me o n y C o n c l u d e s
HISTORY OF THE
BLACK AMERICAN HERITAGE FLAG OF 1967
We are honored to have The Black American Heritage flag represent this wonderful history. Every year we will do a flag raising in honor of the men and their families who designed this majestic flag.
The Black American Heritage flag was designed in 1967 by Melvin Charles and Gleason T. Jackson. According to the designers, "...the elements of the flag include the color black to represent pride and pigmentation and race; red, to remind us of the rich blood black men have shed for freedom, equality, justice and human dignity throughout the world; and gold, to represent intellect, prosperity, and peace. These colors are woven into a composition that juxtaposes the red and black in a set of three stripes: one black stripe centered between two red."
"Superimposed on the black stripe is a golden wreath of fig leaves. The cultivated fig is a native of Africa, and ranks as one of the most ancient of life-sustaining fruits. Centered within the golden wreath is a blunted Moorish boarding sword, symbol of leadership carried by the great Moorish leaders of the 8th century. The sword represents the strength and authority exhibited by a black culture that made many contributions to the world in mathematics, art, medicine, and physical science, heralding the contributions that black Americans would make in these and other fields."
2022 will bring this added event. We will show our flag with pride and explain what the flag means. We are using this day as a day of pride a day of education and a day of working toward self-governing for our community and many other communities of color. We are not Minority Communities we are pride communities of Color.
Why Negro Election Day Celebration Is Represented by The Black American Heritage Flag of 1967
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In 2019, Doreen Wade, President of Salem United, Inc. the Organization which hosts and produces the annual Negro Election Black celebration, searched for a flag to represent the history of the first black voting system in America. She wanted a symbol which said Black America, however, no flag symbol could be found at the time.
She found a website listing all flags which represented black. Each description labeled its flags, African, or Pan African but no Black American. And then almost at the bottom of the list was a flag called Black American Heritage Flag of 1967. Everything it described represented everything Salem United, Inc. stood for.
Doreen began to search for a family member who could give her permission to have the flag represent Salem United's Negro Election Day celebration. It took a week but she connected with a woman, who become known as Joy Kay and identified as Mr. Melvin Charles’s daughter.
We had the opportunity to talk and I learnt a lot about the history of the flag, the history of Mr. Melvin Charles and her history. If felt a strong bond especially after finding out he was a Veteran, a Navy man. I could relate because many of the men in my family were in the military, and that dates back to my 5th generation grandfather, Charles A Potter, who served in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment along with his cousins, and his son who, as a minor, lied about his age so as to serve.
Today the flag is raised in honor of this talented man, why he designed the flag and what our history stands for.
We want to thank Joy Kay as she moves from Salem United, Inc. Member to Ex-officio board member. She will be sharing her valued for their knowledge, expertise and experience.
FLAG AND BANNER COMMITTEE
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Judith Reilly