MILWAUKEE - Get your sketches together as a City of Milwaukee task force hopes to select a new city flag. The group's first meeting was held on Monday, July 14. Its mission it to select a new city flag design before the city's 180th anniversary in 2026.
New city flag selection process
What we know:
This is not the first time Milwaukee's current flag has come under fire. The existing flag features the now-demolished County Stadium and a Native American headdress.
A possible replacement, the so-called People's Flag, has also been a topic of controversy.
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This time around, the hope is to come away with something with staying power.
Where we've been
The backstory:
Milwaukee was incorporated in January 1846. In the 1950s, its current flag was selected.
On Monday, the Milwaukee City Flag Task Force and its eight members from across the city gathered for the first time. The members have backgrounds in art, history, business, tourism and community development.
The task force was born out of the latest failed attempt to update Milwaukee's flag in fall 2024.
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The Milwaukee Common Council ultimately delayed installing the "Sunrise Over The Lake" over concerns the flag did not represent all the people the city.
Monday's meeting was to figure out how to engage the community and make the new flag design and selection process accessible to any resident in the city.
Hoping to engage public
What they're saying:
"I’m really hoping the city, its residents, really become engaged in this process, and really think about it. Not as something ‘Yeah, we just did this.’ No. Something anew, something fresh, something that can invigorate the city as we lead up to the 180th anniversary next year," Venice Williams, Milwaukee Flag Task Force Chairwoman. "This process is not so much about where we’ve been, but where we’re headed and how do we want to be seen and represented in this flag, as we move forward and celebrate the city of Milwaukee."
What's next:
The Milwaukee City Flag Task Force's next meeting is set for early August. The hope is to open flag design submissions by the end of July, with the submission period to run through September.
The Source: The information in this post was produced after attending Monday's meeting and includes information from previous FOX6 News coverage.