Is it time for a new flag?
It has been 39 years since the Creole community saw the creation of its own flag by Pete Bergeron and later adopted by C.R.E.O.L.E. Inc in 1995. Since its creation, it has spread everywhere within the community from New Orleans to California. Yet, a new generation is not hesitating to stitch together a new one. Jordi, a proud Afro-Creole, created a new flag to represent a specific community. She said, “I love the original flag by Pete Bergeron…but I had the feeling to created something to specifically represent our African heritage.
Alex Trapps-Chabala, Jeffery Darensbourg, Daniele Simpson, and Julien Gilles at Congo Square
The necessity to so happened to have created a flag called the Afro-Creole flag. With its colors’ red, white, yellow, and green. It sports a magnolia in the middle to represent a deep spiritual bond with Central African tradition with its leaves pointing in all directions to form a cross for Catholicism. Below two yellow machetes are placed across from each other to pay homage to those who fought for freedom and those who paved the way for generations after, with a phrase that sits above all that reads “Pou Nô Zansèt.” For our ancestors in English. Jordi states, “I personally felt we needed something that would reflect and honor our ancestors while still conveying the story of our complicated history.”
Jordi doesn’t wish to replace the original flag. In fact, she tells us that she prefers having several heritage flags. She believes this flag can help encourage ethnic pride within the black population. She says, “Encouraging ethnic pride by way of the arts will definitely influence the younger black generations to take pride in who they are, and I hope that my flag can be a part of that.” She confesses that some people view it as futile to say Afro-Creole in lieu of Creole due to its connotation, but she wants to remind people that our creoleness is not just connected by our African heritage, but by everyone who contributed to the Louisiana Creole culture. For Jordi, it provides people the space to identify how they see fit within the community. But she affirms, “When it comes to the flag though, I found it super important to proclaim it as a symbol for Afro Creoles because it was made for us, by us.”
Her flags are made on order. To order a flag, you can contact her on Instagram (@boudin_bandit) or TikTok (@boudinbandit) or by email: Kreyolculture@gmail.com.
