Creator of Lincoln’s new flag explains meaning behind design

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - It took several months and hours of decision making, but the ReFlag Lincoln committee has narrowed down their search to one final flag design.

The designer’s name is Ed Mejia and after graduating from Union College in 1998, he started a family, decided Lincoln would be his permanent home and his flag will symbolize the city of Lincoln. The flag is named All Roads Lead to Lincoln, but there was a time Mejia said it wasn’t going to be created.

“I don’t always do contests for design, but I went on vacation and thought this is a good time to think through it,” he said.

Mejia’s initial thoughts then started to turn into specific ideas.

“I did have some words in mind and I wanted those words to be represented in the flag. The main word that kept coming up was hope, what people in Lincoln feel when they come here, especially those that are new to Lincoln. It’s something that I had felt coming here, I sort of felt an optimism,” Mejia explained.

Mejia is originally from El Salvador, a small country in South America. He said culture played a big role in his design process.

“I have friends from Schuyler and Broken Bow and all parts of Nebraska, but they also come from all over the country and come from diverse backgrounds. You’ll notice a lot of the lines look like they lead towards the middle but they also lead out.”

Those lines all meet in the Capital City, reading much like a timeline of Lincoln’s history, with an eye on what’s to come.

“It goes from left to right, much like we read timelines, and it’s also vertically a timeline. Right in the middle is a star and that’s where we are because so much of the flag symbolizes the past; it’s very nostalgic and it has a lot of optimism about the future,” Mejia said.

In the end, Mejia said he couldn’t be more honored to design the flag that will now represent his home.

“For me it was really important to do something that could stand the test of time, that maybe someday my daughters will say hey, my dad made that flag.”

There’s just one more step before the flag is raised around Lincoln. Monday, January 24 there will be a city council meeting. Anyone is welcome to come and give feedback on the design. The city council will then vote on whether or not to adopt the new flag.

A flag raising ceremony was originally scheduled for January 26, but has been postponed. The rescheduled date has not yet been announced.

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