Iconic Black Flag Logo Gets The Hong Kong Protest Treatment – We Back This Hard.

The iconic Black Flag bars have been synonymous with punk rock and hardcore for decades. There is so much weight and meaning carried in these simple yet powerful bars that when people see these bars, a sense of pride envelopes all of us punk and hardcore kids all over the world because we KNOW what they symbolize. After all, Black Flag’s one-time vocalist Henry Rollins described Black Flag in the following manner: “Black Flag’s message is one of “unrest, chaos, and rebellion.”

How apt that the logo becomes part of Hong Kong’s ongoing protests.

Today, a Hong Kong-based designer, updated the iconic Black Flag logo turning it into a design supporting the Hong Kong protests. The protests are now 4 months in without any sign of ending especially with an inept government at the wheel who continuously only spark further unrest through tactics, language and means that do little to de-escalate the climate on our streets. The recent enactment of the stupid “Mask Law” was further proof of their lack of gauging public opinion and sentiment. Many have mentioned that several countries around the world also have “anti-mask” laws currently in place, but the issue is the absolutely idiotic timing and RATIONALE behind the urgency of enacting such a ridiculous law. The government maintains that this law needed to be enacted now in order to quell social unrest, instead, the day it was enacted, Hong Kong erupted into a hot mess of fire and fury as citizens took to the streets donning masks in full defiance of this blatant idiocy. Weeks in, people are still wearing masks, the temporary law is still in place, and the protests continue to burn.

Often, the question is posed – what are the protestors’ demands. For many of us who are out there protesting daily in one form or another, and thus have been LIVING with these demands day in and day out, it blows our minds that people may still not know what the demands are. Therefore, many graphic artists throughout these past 4 months have released beautiful art and graphics to help provide strong visuals to reinforce what people are fighting for.

The demands are:

1. Full withdrawal of the extradition bill
2. Independent commission of inquiry into police brutality
3. Retracting the labeling of protestors as “rioters”
4. Amnesty for arrested protestors
5. Universal suffrage

The designer who created the Black Flag logo into a symbol for Hong Kong’s fight and struggle was kind enough to include the following information:

“I did this simply because I wanted to show my support and maybe bring more awareness to the protest happening here in Hong Kong. I was inspired by fellow protestors who were actually flying black flags out there.

Photo Credit: Tyrone Siu

And after more than 4 months of hard struggle, I admire every fellow HKer out there, standing tall, being firm and focused on our cause and demands.

Our black flag will fly until our demands are met.”

The best thing many of you outside of Hong Kong can do is spread the word, share videos, posts, articles, anything to keep the world talking about us.

香港人 – 加油!

The designer has made the designs available for free here:

GIVE ME HONG KONG