What are the best ideas for replacing Massachusetts' flag? We asked a flag expert

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Massachusetts’ second try at coming up with new ideas for the official state flag, seal and motto is closing in on its top picks. After soliciting over 1,000 submissions from residents this year, the state’s Seal, Flag and Motto Advisory Commission narrowed down the list of proposals to 23 seals, 48 flags and 32 mottos. And this Thursday, the commission is expected to reveal its top three favorites for each category.

The panel includes historians, tourism officials and other cultural leaders, who have to balance a range of considerations, from aesthetics to inclusivity.

But what do flag experts think?

I reached out to Ted Kaye. Kaye wrote the literal book on what makes a “good” and “bad” flag, and serves as the secretary of the North American Vexillological Association, which claims to be the world’s largest group of flag scholars and enthusiasts. (It also happens to have Massachusetts roots.)

Kaye has been closely following Massachusetts' reconsideration of its flag. It started in 2020, amid criticism that the current seal and flag — which depict a Native American with a bow and arrow below an arm wielding a sword  — are offensive.

But the flag also does not rank highly among its peers on pure flag design terms, which say flags should be simple, distinct, meaningfully symbolic, not too many colors and (perhaps most importantly) not include lettering or seals.

"That star doesn't do anything," Kaye said. "The elements should be bigger. And then there's the political element: 'We shouldn't have a Native American on our flag.'"

That's all to say: there isn't a ton going for the current flag.

Still, replacing it is no easy feat.

"These designs not only need to meet the challenges of flag design, they need to get over the finish line of political embrace and adoption," Kaye said.

After taking public feedback on the finalists, the Seal, Flag, and Motto Advisory Commission is due to send its top pick over to the State House by Dec. 15. But there's no guarantee lawmakers will act. (While Minnesota and Utah have recently replaced their old seal-based flags, similar efforts, like in Maine, have faltered.)

So, are there any proposals among the four dozen finalists Kaye thinks can win over lawmakers, vexillologists and Massachusetts as a whole?

Here are the ones he said stood out:

Though it may look like the pine tree flag that is popular in Maine, Kaye says this proposal actually has Massachusetts roots. In fact, it was the reverse side of the current Massachusetts flag up until 1971. Kaye's only suggestions are to make the shield bigger and tweak the tree so it stands out more. A white edge around the tree or changing the tree to white or yellow "would make it spectacular," he said.

The Mayflower is not only the name of the historic ship that sailed to Massachusetts in 1620, it's the state's official flower. As an added benefit, this proposal would give the state a truly distinct flag. "No other state flag looks like this design," Kaye said.

Kaye also polled NAVA's members on the proposals and got more than 125 responses within 24 hours. On average, their highest-rated proposal was another pine tree-and-shield design, with blue and yellow borders.

"The pine tree seemed to help designs float to the top," Kaye said, adding the design was "conventional" but likely to be popular. Check out proposals 571, 908 and 1022 here for a few of his other pine tree-inspired favorites.

It wasn't among the 48 proposals the state commission advanced, but Kaye felt it was worth noting the traditional but unofficial flag of New England was proposed by multiple people and worth consideration. "Its classic and successful design could serve admirably as the state flag of Massachusetts," he said.

P.S.— The flag of New England wasn't the only proposal that didn't make the second round. There were also a lot of flags that, well, did not exactly follow the official NAVA design principles, but are delightful nonetheless. They include everything from a flag depicting the state dinosaur running with a cup of Dunkin' to a shark in a Pilgrim hat. WBUR's Meghan Kelly has a full roundup of the silliest submissions here.