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Vector Flag District of Columbia

Federal district of the United States of America, containing the capital city of the United States, Washington

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The flag of Washington, D.C., consists of three red stars above two red bars on a white background. It is an armorial banner based on the design of the coat of arms granted to George Washington's great-great-great-grandfather, Lawrence Washington of Sulgrave Manor, Northamptonshire, England in 1592. This coat of arms was used privately by the president in his home at Mount Vernon. In heraldry, the stars are called mullets and the coat of arms is blazoned as argent two bars gules, in chief three mullets of the second. In 1938, the flag was selected by a commission created by Act of Congress with the help of the Commission of Fine Arts. The District Flag Commission was composed of three non-elected federally-appointed members: the president of the Board of Commissioners, the secretary of war and the secretary of the Navy. The flag was seen at the time as a symbol of the lack of representation of Washingtonians as no local group was involved in the selection process. Paradoxically, it went from being rejected by many in the local population to being embraced by most DC residents, the DC Statehood Movement and businesses as a symbol of the local identity in the 21st century. Today, it can be seen all around the city on DC Government property, flying in front of homes, in logos of local businesses and on some local residents' bodies as tattoos. It is also flown on Flag Day.