Newburyport residents want the City Council to replace the Massachusetts flag and seal, saying they promote the state’s racist past.
The Council received a resolution on February 27 urging their acceptance of the Special Commission Regarding the Seal and Motto of the Commonwealth, according to the Newburyport.
Proposal To Change State Emblem
The Commission advised modifying the state’s emblem and flag to reflect its diverse population. The General Government Committee voted 9-2 to refer the measure the same day.
According to Newburyport residents Marianna Vesey and Linda Lu Burciaga, 55 other cities have embraced the bill. According to Vesey and Burciaga, dozens of additional localities are considering the resolution.
Vesey argued that the state seal colonizes and forcefully portrays White people as in charge of this earth and that we must subjugate the Native American people.
While our White supremacist culture has facilitated the breakdown of the Native American world, we may disregard this. We assume their continued existence. Their existence must be acknowledged and respected. Vesey stated.
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Controversial Massachusetts State Flag, Seal
Burciaga asserts that both the flag and the seal represent a White hand gripping a Colonial sword above the head of a Native American. Both symbols feature the Latin phrase “Ense petit placid sub libertate quietem,” which translates as She seeks a quiet place beneath liberty by the sword.
Burciaga added that the illustrator based the belt on the red flannel belt worn by Wampanoag leader Metacomet, who led the first native resistance against English colonization.
Plymouth exhibited the severed head of Burciaga as a combat trophy for over twenty years. This representation depicts only a small section. He advocated for local schools to emphasize Native American culture, claiming that the state’s current educational system does not teach children about the state’s authentic history.
The majority of these schools do not teach our children about the authentic history of our state, its mascots, or the cultural appropriation of Native American artifacts.
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