JULY 14, 2025 — The newly-formed Milwaukee City Flag Task Force held its inaugural meeting today, says WTMJ.
The eight-member group, comprising community members with diverse backgrounds in art, history, business, and tourism, aims to finalize a new design before the city’s 180th anniversary in 2026, according to FOX 6 Milwaukee.
Task force chair Venice Williams emphasized that the primary goal is accessibility for all city residents. “Our task is to make this process as accessible as possible to the residents of the City of Milwaukee,” Williams said.
Much of the meeting focused on administrative planning to ensure a smooth and inclusive selection process.
The task force outlined a timeline that aims to open public submissions for flag designs by the end of July, with the submission period continuing through September.
A “vigorous month of public engagement” is planned for September, with the goal of selecting finalists around early October. Williams expressed confidence in this schedule, stating, “I’m not concerned about the timeline at all. I think that people who are passionate about their own ideas for this flag will come forth”.
Adding to the discussion, Milwaukee historian and task force member John Gurda stressed the need for a robust public engagement period to ensure unity behind a single, official flag. He warned against the potential for “redundancy that would lead to disunity” if multiple popular flags were to coexist.
This new effort follows a 2024 Common Council vote that delayed the adoption of the “Sunrise Over The Lake” design, also known as the “People’s Flag,” over concerns that it did not represent the entire city.
The task force acknowledged that this design is likely to be submitted again for consideration.
The Milwaukee City Flag Task Force is scheduled to convene again on August 7th.
