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Raising a Flag of Resistance

On every major holiday, Maria Landry Ross would display a decorative flag to commemorate the occasion. Unable to find one to commemorate the Dr. Martin Luther King federal holiday or Black History Month, she created one for her personal use.

King’s work took on personal significance for Ross on the morning of June 19, 2000, the day Juneteenth is celebrated, when her family awoke to find a burning cross in the front yard of their Katy, Texas, home. “My American dream was shattered,” Ross says. “The very thing (King) lost his life for, I was having to face and deal with.”

The Rosses decided to fight the ignorance of racebased hatred by making their flag, “a constant visual reminder of King’s vision,” available to be displayed at homes, schools and government buildings around the country. Licensed by the King estate, the flag, which debuted at the King Center in Atlanta in May, is for sale there and at www.rossflags.com.

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