The New Flag

Drawing elements from the historic flag of 1960 and alluding to Raleigh’s famous City of Oaks moniker, the proposed new design is a classic emblem that recalls our past and inspires us toward a bold future.

  • The shield shape with the silver diamonds incorporates Sir Walter Raleigh’s coat of arms into the acorn.
  • The design preserves the colors from the coat of arms and the historic flag of 1960.
  • The acorn emblem alludes to Raleigh’s byname City of Oaks. The acorn is a classic symbol of potential and growth.​

The flag follows the principles of good flag design, making it an attractive, effective, and memorable symbol. Its single iconic emblem makes the flag easy to recognize even when it’s flapping in a breeze at a distance.

The Coat of Arms Explained

In heraldry, a coat of arms is specified by a blazon, which is a textual description of the artistic design of a shield. The blazon for Sir Walter Raleigh’s coat of arms is:

Gules, five fusils in bend argent

In plain English, this means “A red shield with five silver diamonds arranged in a diagonal band running from the top left to the bottom right.”

Illustration of Sir Walter Raleigh’s coat of arms​

The illustration, or emblazonment, of a coat of arms must follow the design specified in the blazon, but the precise style of the objects in the coat of arms can differ from one emblazonment to the next depending on the whims of the artist.

Portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh, with his coat of arms depicted on the tapestry at top left.

In the historic Raleigh flag of 1899, Sir Walter Raleigh’s coat of arms is emblazoned as a nearly rectangular shield with dark grey diamonds. In the new Raleigh flag, Sir Walter’s coat of arms is emblazoned in a rounded shape, merging the arms with Raleigh’s classic acorn emblem. The new design uses a light grey hue, which is truer to the original silver color in the coat of arms.

Adaptability

The emblem on the flag is easily adaptable and will transfer well to other media. See it here imagined on some cool swag:

Action

The New Raleigh Flag Campaign will petition the city council to adopt this new design as an alternate official flag of Raleigh, to live alongside the flag of 1960, which will remain an official flag. Get involved and help fulfill the mission.

Get involved