Todd's fifth public art project renders the American flag's stars in skin tones, as a salute to the diverse people who work, volunteer, create, and serve in the United States.
The American Unity Flag is a multi-cultural interpretation of the U.S. flag that honors Americans of all colors — from the indigenous peoples whose names grace our lands and waterways, to the international students whose innovations will power the future — by reflecting their skin tones in the field of 50 traditionally white stars.
White supremacists have no place in a nation that's built of immigrants and whose military and peacekeeping operations are staffed with people of all colors and religious backgrounds, fighting for the very freedoms most of the world covets. We owe our very identities as Americans to the tenets of inclusion that drive our living constitution's continuing evolution as an elastic and progressive light to the world. This flag doesn't just recognizes that. It spangles it forth!
Click here to order yours. Also available as an iron-on patch, and a vinyl sticker.
I would like to thank you for this project and for using this opportunity
to stand up for something that we as a country need to face together as one.Â
— Idarre Coles
Todd originally developed the American Unity Flag to demonstrate solidarity with Colin Kaepernick and others taking a knee for racial injustice. Inspiration came from Angélica Dass's "Humanae" project.
Todd partnered with the Minnesota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and two downtown Minneapolis condo buildings flanking the US Bank Stadium to fly his twist on the U.S. flag during Super Bowl LII in 2018. Todd continues to donate 10% of all sales of the American Unity Flag to the ACLU.
The flag is currently flying in the front yards of individuals in 20 U.S. states.
In patriotism, this flag pays respect to America's powerful heritage as a nation of all races.
