imported>Kofi: /* The Ethiopian colours */

2015-04-02T04:12:33Z

The Ethiopian colours

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[[File:Flags with Pan-African colors.svg|thumb|African countries using Pan-African colours in their flags, shown in green.]]
Two different sets of three colours are referred to as the '''Pan-African colours''': the '''green, gold, and red''' first used in the [[flag of Ethiopia and Eritrea]] before the countries broke apart;([[Ghana]] was the first country to adopt the pan-African colours) and the '''red, black, and green''' adopted by the American-based [[Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League]] (UNIA). As such, they are used in [[flag]]s and other emblems to represent [[Pan-Africanism]], [[Africa]]n identity, or [[Black people|blacks]] as a race, though some flags (e.g., [[flag of Lithuania|that of Lithuania]]) use these colours for unrelated reasons. The Pan-African colours are also a symbol of the Rastafari movement, and citizens of the U.S. state of Hawaii, influenced by reggae music, use the colours as a symbol of regional pride, despite having a very small black population.

==The Ethiopian colours==
[[File:Flag of Ethiopia (1975-1987, 1991-1996).svg|thumb|The traditional [[flag of Ethiopia]].]]
Green, gold, and red are now found on the [[national flag]]s of many African nations. They originate in [[Ethiopia]]; from where they also have relevance for the [[Rastafari movement]]. They were used on many ancient African flags, most notably in the bloom on the flag of [[Granada]], the [[Moors|Moorish]] state in [[Spain]]. The colours appear most prominently on the 1798 [[flag of Ethiopia]], with the green at the bottom; however, they were accidentally flown upside-down on a state ceremony and the tradition was adopted by the Ethiopian government and by several African states, as well as by Pan-Africanist organisations around the world. It is now common to see these flags with green on top (or in front) of gold, and red at the bottom (or at the trailing edge) of the flag,

Except for a brief period of occupation by [[Italy]] under the [[Fascism|Fascists]], Ethiopia remained outside European control during the colonial era, and was therefore admired by many newly-independent African states. The adoption of the Ethiopian national colours was a consequence of this. The first Afrikan state to adopt a red, gold and green flag upon independence was [[Ghana]] in 1957.

==The UNIA colours==
[[File:Flag of the UNIA.svg|thumb|The [[Pan-African flag|UNIA or Pan-African flag]].]]
The UNIA constitution defines red, black, and green as the Pan-African colours: "red representing the noble blood that unites all people of African ancestry, the colour black for the people, green for the rich land of Africa."{{Fact|date=August 2007}} The [[Pan-African flag|UNIA flag]] was designated the official colours of the African Race by the UNIA at its convention in [[Madison Square Garden]] on August 13, 1920 in [[New York City]].
Alternatively, it was explained by journalist Charles Mowbray White that [[Marcus Garvey]] proposed the colours for the following reasons: "Garvey said red because of sympathy for the 'Reds of the world', and the Green their sympathy for the Irish in their fight for freedom, and the Black- [for] the Negro."<ref>''Garvey Papers'' Vol. 2, p. 603. </ref>

==Current flags with the colours==
The following are countries that combine three or four of red, black, green, and yellow in their flags as representative of their African identity.

===Africa===
<gallery>

File:Flag of Angola.svg|<center>[[Flag of Angola|Angola]]</center>
File:Flag of Benin.svg|<center>[[Flag of Benin|Benin]]</center>
File:Flag of Burkina Faso.svg|<center>[[Flag of Burkina Faso|Burkina Faso]]</center>
File:Flag of Cameroon.svg|<center>[[Flag of Cameroon|Cameroon]]</center>
File:Flag of the Central African Republic.svg|<center>[[Flag of the Central African Republic|Central African Republic]]</center>
File:Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg|<center>[[Flag of the Republic of the Congo|Congo-Brazzaville]]</center>
File:Flag of Eritrea.svg|<center>[[Flag of Eritrea|Eritrea]]</center>
File:Flag of Ethiopia.svg|<center>[[Flag of Ethiopia|Ethiopia]]</center>
File:Flag of Ghana.svg|<center>[[Flag of Ghana|Ghana]]</center>
File:Flag of Guinea.svg|<center>[[Flag of Guinea|Guinea]]</center>
File:Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg|<center>[[Flag of Guinea-Bissau|Guinea-Bissau]]</center>
File:Flag of Kenya.svg|<center>[[Flag of Kenya|Kenya]]</center>
File:Flag of Malawi.svg|<center>[[Flag of Malawi|Malawi]]</center>
File:Flag of Mali.svg|<center>[[Flag of Mali|Mali]]</center>
File:Flag of Mozambique.svg|<center>[[Flag of Mozambique|Mozambique]]</center>
File:Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg|<center>[[Flag of São Tomé and Príncipe|São Tomé and Príncipe]]</center>
File:Flag of Senegal.svg|<center>[[Flag of Senegal|Senegal]]</center>
File:Flag of South Africa.svg|<center>[[Flag of South Africa|South Africa]]</center>
File:Flag of Togo.svg|<center>[[Flag of Togo|Togo]]</center>
File:Flag of Uganda.svg|<center>[[Flag of Uganda|Uganda]]</center>
File:Flag of Zambia.svg|<center>[[Flag of Zambia|Zambia]]</center>
File:Flag of Zimbabwe.svg|<center>[[Flag of Zimbabwe|Zimbabwe]]</center>
</gallery>

===Caribbean===
<gallery>
File:Flag of Grenada.svg|<Center>[[Flag of Grenada|Grenada]]
File:Flag of Jamaica.png|<Center>[[Flag of Jamaica|Jamaica]]
File:Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.svg|<Center>[[Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis|Saint Kitts and Nevis]]
</gallery>

===South America===
<gallery>
File:Flag_of_French_Guiana.svg|<Center>[[Flag of French Guiana|French Guiana]]
File:Flag_of_Guyana.svg|<Center>[[Flag of Guyana|Guyana]]
File:Flag_of_Suriname.svg|<Center>[[Flag of Suriname|Suriname]]
</gallery>

==Autonomous region / Pending independence==
<gallery>
File:Flag_of_South_Sudan.svg|<center>[[Flag of Southern Sudan|Southern Sudan]]</center>
File:Flag of Libya (1951).svg|<center>[[Flag of Libya|Republic of Libya]] (disputed)</center>
</gallery>

==Former flags with the colours==
Only countries whose flags currently do not use Pan-African colours are included in this gallery.
<gallery>

File:Flag of Rwanda (1962-2001).svg|<center>[[Flag of Rwanda|Rwanda]] (1961–2001)</center>
File:Flag of Zaire.svg|<center>[[Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo|Zaire]] (1971–1997)</center>
File:Flag of Cape Verde 1975.png|<center>[[Flag of Cape Verde|Cape Verde]] (1975-1992)</center>
</gallery>

==Former nations==
<gallery>
File:Flag of Biafra.svg|<center>[[Flag of Biafra|Biafra ]](1967–1970)</center>
File:Flag of South Kasai.png|<center>[[South Kasai]] (1960–1962)</center>
File:Flag of Zimbabwe Rhodesia.svg|<center>[[Zimbabwe Rhodesia]] (1979)</center>
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}
* Znamierowski, Alfred (2001). ''The World Encyclopedia of Flags.'' London: Anness Publishing Ltd.

==See also==
* [[United States of Africa]]
* [[Tricolour]]
* [[Pan-Slavic colours]]
* [[Pan-Iranian colors|Pan-Iranian colours]]
* [[Pan-Arab colours]]
* [[Nordic Cross Flag]]
* Gallery of flags by design
* [[Pan-African flag]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colors, Pan-African}}
[[Category:African-American culture]]
[[Category:African American history]]
[[Category:Colour schemes]]
[[Category:Pan-Africanism]]
[[Category:Pan movements]]
[[Category:Vexillology]]
[[Category:Flags by design]]

Pan-Afrikan colors - Revision history

imported>Kofi: /* The Ethiopian colours */