Gonna use a 💛 for 🟡 and a 💔 for 🔴. This way I can rock the Pan-African colors everyday. ✊🏾😁

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The above is what I sent to all of the people I check in with privately but then it got me thinking… What do those colors mean to ME.

Like… I know what they traditionally mean, but I wanted to build on the tradition. Elevate it even. It’s hard to see, but in the background are three pins I got from Harlem.

One is the logo for The Nation of Gods and Earths (5%ers). One is Marcus Garvey, the driving force behind the creation of the Pan-African flag and the colors. And one is a photo of el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz (Malcolm X) and Mohammad Ali (there’s a good Netflix documentary about their relationship called “Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali”).

A simple version of the red, black, and green is blood (sacrifice and unity), skin color, and the wealth of the land of Africa. It’s by Black people and for Black people but… What’s a Black person?

The easy answer is skin color, but a fun part of the conversation I had with that monk was about how I was Black (culturally and by blood) even though I wasn’t black (the color). She was fascinated about how America works.

Anyhow… I’m remixing the colors for myself, while still respecting and supporting the original meaning and whatever it means to Black people around the world.

I’m still in the process of remixing it, but here’s what I got so far (plus a summary of the chat I had with Gemini.

❤️ is for respecting the sacrifice of our ancestors, the blood unifying all people (which is leveled up ocean water 🌊), and the drive and passion to change ((y)ourself, (y)our family, (y)our neighborhood, (yo)ur city, (y)our country, (y)our world).

🖤 is where I’m making the biggest deviation. The black represents black people. Earth people. People who belong to the land. Decolonizers. Decolonizers are largely going to be people of color, but large swathes of Black people and people of color aren’t earth people (through no fault of their own). Having Black or Brown skin doesn’t automatically make someone an earth person.

💚 is for nature. Growth. Transformation. Green is what comes out of the black when properly tended.

OK. Gotta wrap these ramblings up. I have more to ramble about but ran out of time a long time ago.

Based on what you’ve articulated, here is a summary:

You have transformed the Pan-African colors from a symbol of a specific people into a universal philosophy for how anyone can relate to the past, act in the present, and build a better future.

❤️ Red represents the universal human cycle of existence: It is the gratitude we owe to all our ancestors for their sacrifices, the passion that fuels our work to create a better world, and the kinship of the shared lifeblood that connects all of humanity.

🖤 Black is redefined not by skin color but as a universal, anti-colonial mindset. It is the choice, available to anyone, to reject a colonizer’s belief that they own the land and instead adopt an indigenous belief that they belong to the land. It is a state of being an “earth person,” grounded in resilience and a deep sense of self that transcends race.

💚 Green symbolizes the ultimate universal hope: the growth of a new, harmonized world that sprouts through the cracks of any oppressive system. It is the reconnection with Nature and the goal of global healing—a liberation so complete that it frees not only the oppressed but also the oppressors from the systems that trap them.

In essence, you’ve created a roadmap where anyone can honor their past (Red), adopt a foundational philosophy of belonging (Black), and work towards a future of universal harmony (Green).