ST. MARTIN UNITY FLAG NOW HAS A WIKIPEDIA PAGE

GREAT BAY/MARIGOT, St. Martin: The St. Martin Unity Flag has been “hoisted” on Wikipedia! The phrase is a playful reference to the banner that symbolizes the

island’s historic unity and now has its own page in the free, collaboratively edited online

encyclopedia.

The Unity Flag was “adopted in 2022 by the governments of both sides of St. Martin”

and “officially recognized as a cultural symbol … ‘affirming the unity and identity’ of the people

of the island,” according to the Wikipedia page.

The page includes an introduction as well as sections on the flag’s “History,” “Design,”

and “Use,” followed by the standard “References” and “Further reading” sections.

The St. Martin Unity Flag has steadily grown in use across the island since its unveiling

on August 31, 1990, and the encyclopedia states some of the ways that this has been happening,

said St. Martin poet Lasana M. Sekou. “The two children’s Unity Flag activity guides published

digitally in June and now the Wikipedia page are new examples of that progress,” said Sekou.

“The Unity Flag lives in the hearts and minds of St. Martiners who see it as a banner of

unity and togetherness of all the people who make up this island that we love,” said author and

culture critic Fabian Adekunle Badejo this week.

“Now it also has its own Wikipedia page, offering a wider recognition of what it

symbolizes: St. Martin as a Caribbean island that defies colonial divisions and affirms that its

people are one and indivisible,” said Badejo, who produces the long-running Sunday talk radio

Culture Time.