Kevin Faulconer, the former mayor of San Diego and a current Republican candidate for governor against incumbent Democrat Gavin Newsom, tweeted the Pan-African Flag for Juneteenth instead of the official Juneteenth flag.
“Today, we take pause to celebrate freedom with the ending of slavery in our country,” Faulconer tweeted, including a campaign graphic with the red, black, and green banner known as the Pan-African Flag, instead of the red, white, and blue Juneteenth flag.
The Pan-African Flag has many uses and meanings, but it is typically associated specifically with the black community, and is sometimes linked to radical causes. It has its roots in support for Marcus Garvey’s plan to lead black Americans to establish a colony of their own in Africa. National Public Radio noted in 2017 that the Pan-African Flag is often used “when black people need a symbol of unity that stands outside the notion of Americanness.”
The Juneteenth flag specifically symbolizes black citizenship as Americans, not a separate racial or national identity.
Faulconer is one of several candidates for governor in a recall that will likely be held before the end of the year.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.