Some People Think Minnesota's New Flag Looks Like the Flag of Somalia

Although it's undeniably true that Minnesota has a large and proud Somalian community, there are some who have suggested that community is operating in Minnesota in a sinister way. One particular bugaboo for Conservative critics of the Somali community in Minnesota, and the state's embrace of those immigrants, has to do with the changing of the Minnesota state flag.

The state adopted a new state flag in 2024, and some think that state flag resembles the state flag of Somalia. Now, many want to know whether that's actually the case. Here's what we know.

On the surface, the flags of Somalia and Minnesota seem to have some things in common. For one, both of them feature some prominent light blue, as well as a white star. That's where the similarities between the two flags end, though. The Somalia flag is a single five-pointed star on a light blue background, while Minnesota's state flag features a dark blue shape that resembles Minnesota, as well as a light blue shape that's distinct from the color of the Somalia flag.

What's more, while both feature white stars, Minnesota's stage flag features an eight-point star instead of a five-point one, and the star is on the dark blue instead of the light blue.

While some on the right have used the similarities between the two flags to suggest that something sinister is happening in Minnesota, the flag was not actually adopted because of the Somali community in Minnesota.

Minnesota did change its flag to be more sensitive to its residents, but the primary reason was that the old design was seen as insensitive in its depiction of Native American communities. The old flag depicted a white man tilling land while a Native American rides a horse, and some in the Native community said that the flag depicted their erasure from the land, per CBS News.

"Our current flag is problematic. I think we all know that. We've evolved into a more diverse state, and I think it's more reflective of that," Governor Tim Walz explained in 2024. According to the statute passed, the new flag needed to "accurately and respectfully reflect Minnesota's shared history, resources, and diverse cultural communities."

Secondarily, some felt that the flag was simply ugly from an aesthetic perspective. For those reasons, this new, simpler flag was adopted. The dark blue of the flag is meant to represent the shape of Minnesota, while the light blue resembles the lakes that Minnesota is best known for. The eight-pointed star is the North Star, because Minnesota has long been known as the North Star state.

While it is true that there is a prominent Somali community in Minnesota, and it's also true that the two flags bear a surface-level resemblance, there's no reason to think one design has anything to do with another. And, even if they did resemble each other intentionally, that doesn't mean Somali people are orchestrating some kind of conspiracy.