What do the Cuyahoga River, the color green and the underground railroad have in common? They are all represented in the city of Kent’s new flag design.

Zach Garster, secretary of the City Flag Redesign Committee, created the winning flag design with a deeper meaning in mind.

The design call opened at Kent’s 2022 Heritage Festival when members of the community and flag enthusiasts alike were primed with some basic guidelines and invited to submit their own designs.

Committee chair Jon Ridinger described the process of narrowing the submissions from 68 to the three final options that were put on display for a public vote. The committee looked for common themes in the submissions to determine what design elements were most representative of the Kent community.

“We kept track on a spreadsheet of every flag design that came in and what colors were used, what symbols were used, what they were symbolizing,” Ridinger said. “So, that way, we could see what people think of the most when they think of Kent.”

While the submitted designs could now be used as initial concepts, Ridinger found that specific colors and symbolism were important to the community.

“Blue and or green was in almost every design,” Ridinger said. “The Cuyahoga River and the Tree City were referenced in almost every design that was submitted.”

The committee then made the final selection, with Garster’s flag coming out on top.

Garster’s original design was revised by the committee before its final approval. The approved flag features blue and green on a white background. The central star symbol has dual meaning referencing both the North Star and Kent’s history as stop on the underground railroad.

“One of the things I came across as I was designing the flag was the underground railroad quilt star symbolism, which is the star that’s in the negative space of the intersecting lines on the flag, and just the way that that symbol can also be a beacon of hope for the future, not just a symbol of the past,” Garster explained.

“If you think of [the star] as the North Star in terms of the North Star is Kent, then you can also see how other communities can look to Kent like the North Star and use it as a guide point in their own policy and their own decisions and their own approach to their own city and the people that live there.” Garster said.

It is Garster’s hope the new flag will represent more than just the landscape of the city of Kent.

“I think, for the whole committee, the intention was to develop a symbol of unity that the whole community could stand behind,” Garster said. “I think anything that brings those unique and diverse people together and gives them a symbol of something that they can rally behind is a good thing.”

Caroline Willis is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].