On Monday, following a lengthy discussion and some testy exchanges, the Milwaukee Common Council’s Steering and Rules Committee voted 5-3 in favor of adopting the so-called “People’s Flag of Milwaukee” as the official City flag.
The full Common Council will vote on the matter later this month. If the matter passes that, Mayor Cavalier Johnson will have the final say on whether or not the “People’s Flag” will become the official flag of Milwaukee, replacing a still-official design adopted in 1955.
The “People’s Flag”—a.k.a. “Sunrise Over the Lake”—was the winner of a 2016 contest to design a new City flag. Milwaukee freelance designer Robert Lenz created the design.
“I’m ready to move on, and I think the city has already moved on without us,” Alderman Scott Spiker said near the end of Monday’s meeting. “I think it’s pretty clear that the city has adopted this flag, for those who care.”
Alderman Peter Burgelis, along with the man behind the original contest, graphic designer Steve Kodis, spoke at Monday’s meeting. They argued that the “People’s Flag” had indeed been “organically adopted” by Milwaukee. They pointed to the design’s use on beer cans, sports team logos, and tattoos.
“For the last eight years the flag has really become bigger than I personally could have ever imagined,” Kodis said.
Burgelis said a series of “Flag Roadshow” events this summer generated responses from 1,296 Milwaukee citizens. A total of 967 responses were in favor of adopting the “People’s Flag.” A total of 329 were against the idea. Burgelis stressed that the responses represented an “absolutely unscientific, imperfect survey,” however.
Milwaukee historian John Gurda, appearing via a pre-taped video, voiced his support for adopting the “People’s Flag.” Kodis also read a pro-adoption statement from Milwaukee scholar Reggie Jackson.
And yet there were plenty of sticking points during Monday’s discussion—many of them similar to issues first raised in 2018.
Aldermen Russell Stamper grilled Kodis on the inclusiveness of the original 2016 contest. Kodis replied that he, along with nonprofit Greater Together, had reached out to numerous schools, groups, and boys and girls clubs in 2016, though he couldn’t recall exactly where they were located in the city. When it was suggested that the “People’s Flag” could be found “everywhere,” Stamper said: “I guess it depends on what district you’re driving through. I don’t see it in mine.”
Stamper, in another echo of 2018, also took issue with the symbolism of the “People’s Flag.” He questioned why the flag’s sun was white. This led to a brief but bizarre back-and-forth between Stamper and Kodis, in which the principles of good flag design and the dangers of looking directly at the sun were discussed.
“In flag design, white is generally used for unity and peace,” Kodis explained.
“I wonder who made that up,” Stamper replied.
Alderman Bob Bauman also voiced his reservations with the “People’s Flag.” He said that the “Sunset Over The Lake” design “has no particular connection to Milwaukee,” and noted its striking similarity to the City flag of Reno, Nevada. (The Reno flag was designed after the “People’s Flag,” but was quickly adopted.)
“I think I’m one of three members of this committee that was actually here during the last flag discussion,” he said. “I was not a fan of the design, and I was definitely not a fan of the process that was followed to adopt this design. But at this point I’ve become more agnostic because I’m tired of talking about this.”
And what about the cost of replacing the flag?
Burgelis said he could only find 17 or 18 instances of the City flag flying in official buildings, including City Hall. As for decals on things like Department of Public Works vehicles, Burgelis said requiring them to be immediately replaced would be “ridiculous,” and that “the department can update their vehicles, update their design, if they so choose when they acquire new fleet purchases.”
Aldermen Stamper, Bauman, and DiAndre Jackson were the three “no” votes during Monday’s meeting.
The issue of updating and replacing Milwaukee’s City flag dates back nearly a decade. In 2015, inspired by a TED Talk in which podcast host Roman Mars called the official Milwaukee flag one of the worst in the country. Kodis, Greater Together, and others spearheaded a grassroots contest to come up with a new flag. In June 2016, following a 1,000-entry design contest, Robert Lenz’s “Sunrise Over the Lake” was chosen by online voters as the “People’s Flag.”
The symbol was soon embraced by much of Milwaukee, appearing on everything from shirts and stickers to bikes and beer. In July 2018, “People’s Flag” organizers made a presentation to the Common Council seeking official adoption of the flag. The presentation began well but was effectively shut down when various alders raised concerns about the non-inclusive nature of the contest. Further discussion—and the question of whether Milwaukee actually needed a new flag—was punted to the Milwaukee Arts Board.
In the fall and winter of 2018, following another presentation from “People’s Flag” organizers, the Milwaukee Arts Board determined that a new flag was indeed needed, and that the People’s Flag contest was indeed non-inclusive. The Board recommended that a request for proposal (RFP) be set up to come up with a new, official Milwaukee flag. On April 25, 2019, the Steering and Rules Committee approved a resolution to create a new process to come up with an official city flag. That effort stalled, however, thanks in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Want more Milwaukee Record? Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and/or support us on Patreon.
RELATED ARTICLES
• Steering and Rules Committee to consider adoption of new City flag Monday
• Let’s argue about the flag (again) at these “Flag Roadshow” events
• New City flag is long overdue, and the process to get a new one starts today