Washington State Lawmakers Propose Removing George Washington’s Image from State Flag
Lawmakers in Washington state are proposing the removal of George Washington’s face from the state flag.
The current flag, featuring a green background with the state seal—an image of George Washington—was designed in 1889 when Washington achieved statehood. State law specifies that the flag must be “of dark green silk or bunting and shall bear in its center a reproduction of the seal of the state of Washington,” and it was officially adopted in 1923.
But state lawmakers are proposing a bill to redesign the new flag. The bill states that “While George Washington is an important national figure, he has limited historical connection to the state itself. This makes his image less meaningful as a symbol for the state.”
If passed, the Washington State Flag Redesign Committee would work to adopt a new flag design by 2028. According to a report by My Northwest, the final design would be submitted to voters for approval in a general election.
One supporter of the change, who is expected to testify in favor of the bill, wrote in a blog post that the flag is “deeply and historically bad.” He argued that while the state’s name honors a national figure, the flag itself represents a time when local voices were disregarded.
“I’m not saying we need to go as far as changing the state’s name (that would be crazy! looks around), but we don’t need to underline it with a state flag,” he wrote.
The proposal follows similar efforts in other states. Mississippi, Utah, and Minnesota have all recently replaced their state flags, and additional redesign proposals have been introduced in states with simple seals on their flags.
