The purpose of this paper was to analyze a particular period in American icon imagery, specifically the use of the American flag
in African American art during the Vietnam war. The author tracks the history of flag desecration legislation alongside artworks
which utilized the flag in order to give a fuller picture of the discourse around the symbol at the time. ‘This was a period of
increase politicization of the symbol abroad and at home. It was also of particular controversy in the African American
community where the symbol was decreasingly able to symbolize them and their needs. The author looks specifically at three
preeminent artists at the time: Faith Ringgold, Dread Scott, and David Hammons. Each artist reacted to the legacy of the
American flag in distinct ways. Faith Ringgold is used to discuss activism around the American flag as a decidedly
unredeemable symbol; Dread Scott shows us an example of how art can engage with law in fruitful ways by breaking it; and,
finally, David Hammons frames the paper showing us how the flag can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. Ultimately this
final assertion reigns supreme: the flag as a polyvalent symbol unable to be defined and thus useless.