Pan-African colours is a term that may refer to two different sets of colours:
Green, yellow, and red are now found on the national flags of many African nations. The colour combination was borrowed from the flag of Ethiopia.[2] The Ethiopian flag has influenced the flags of many Pan-African organizations and polities. Except for relatively brief periods of influence and occupation by the Kingdom of Italy, Ethiopia remained outside European control during the colonial era by defeating the Italian army at the battle of Adwa in 1896, ending the Italian protectorate. As a result, the country drew the admiration of many newly independent states in Africa. The adoption of the Ethiopian national colours by many Pan-African entities is a consequence of this. The first African state to adopt a gold, red and green flag upon independence was Ghana in 1957, designed by Theodosia Okoh.[3] [4]
See main article: Pan-African flag. The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA) founded by Marcus Garvey has a constitution that defines red, black, and green as the Pan-African colours: "red representing the noble blood that unites all people of African ancestry, the colour black for the people, green for the rich land of Africa." The UNIA flag was designated the official colours of Black Africans by the UNIA at its convention in Madison Square Garden on August 13, 1920, in New York City, United States.
The following are countries and territories that use one or both sets of Pan-African colours in their official flags:
Although the following flags contain a pan-African colour scheme, they were not officially designed to symbolise pan-Africanism. The designs may or may not be influenced by pan-African colours.
Rastafari colours also originate from the Ethiopian flag, but though Rastafari thought harbours pan-African sympathies, its use of the Ethiopian flag is historically rooted in the veneration of former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie.