The flag of Detroit, Michigan, consists of four cantons (blue with thirteen stars, red with lions, white with yellow fleur-de-lis, and diagonal thirteen red and white stripes) each with a certain flag, with its seal in the middle.
Symbolism[]
The flags in the four cantons represent the three countries that once controlled Detroit (United States, France, and Great Britain [which is now current-day United Kingdom]). The two Latin mottos read Speramus Meliora and Resurget Cineribus, meaning "We hope for better things" and "It will rise from the ashes", which was written by Gabriel Richard after the fire of 1805. The seal is a representation of the Detroit fire which occurred on June 11, 1805. The fire caused the entire city to burn with only one building saved from the flames. The figure on the left weeps over the destruction while the figure on the right gestures to the new city that will rise in its place.
Former Flags[]
Detroit's flag was designed in 1907 but wasn't fully adopted until 1948. It has been modified three times, each on involving the seal being changed. Overall, the design has remained the same since its adoption.
Flag of Detroit (1948-1972)
Flag of Detroit (1972-1976)
Flag of Detroit (1976-2000)
Redesign proposals[]
Design by Flag Mashup Bot. The blue stripe represents the Detroit River. Gray represents chrome, alluding to Detroit's status as the Motor City. White represents snow, as it snows a lot in Detroit. Black represents the citizenry of Detroit. The basic design also resembles an overhead bird's eye view of the Detroit River basin, with white being Wayne County, Michigan and gray being Windsor, Canada. Coincidentally, white, black, gray, and blue are the colors of the Detroit Lions football team.
Design by Laqueesha. Author's note: The wheel in the center represents the automobile, alluding to Detroit's role as the "Motor City". It is defacing a pre-1958 French flag, referring to Detroit's former ruler France. As for colors, the red stripe represents Canada, as Detroit borders Canada. The red is on the right side of the flag, as when looking at a north-up map, Canada is to the right of Detroit. White represents snow, since it snows a lot in Detroit. Blue represents the Detroit River, which Detroit sits on.
Design by Laqueesha. Author's note: The two thin stripes represent Detroit and the neighboring city of Windsor, Canada. The thick stripe represents the Detroit River that divides the two. White represents snow, since it snows a lot in Detroit, and blue represents water as Detroit is a city located on a river. The lion in the canton represents the British (as the lion is the British national animal), as the British ruled Detroit at one point.
Design by Laqueesha. Author's note: The St. George's Cross represents the British and the flowers represent France, both former rulers of Detroit at one point. Colors: Black represents the citizenry of Detroit and yellow represents gasoline as Detroit is the "Motor City". Like the current flag, the flag is quartered into four sections.
Taking inspiration from the crest of the Cadillac Motor Car Division and the flag of Maryland (which is based on the family arms of Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore), I designed this flag since Detroit is the car capital of the world. An interesting thing you should know is that the Cadillac logo comes from the coat of arms of Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, who is best known as the founder of Detroit in 1701. Not to mention, the Cadillac company is named after him, and it's believed that co-founder Henry Leland is the descendant of La Mothe. I feel that this flag would best represent the city's history and automobile industry.
'Detroit Rise flag' proposal by Deon Mixon Jr. (website).
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