‘Black Poppy Rose’; The logo has 14 letters (5, 5, 4). 5 x 5 x 4 = 100, equaling 100 years since the end of the First World War. Therefore, it also signifies the end of ignorance concerning the contribution of Africans and People of African origin to a host of European wars throughout the ages.

The shape of the letters is also curved, with few angles. This symbolizes the Spirit and Will of Africans and People of African origin, as it’s something that can be bent, but not broken.

The letter ‘A’ in ‘Black’, is open, for two reasons. The first, being that it represents us having an open connection to the earth and to Nature, and the second, that it represents us being open to having a dialogue with those that don’t know of our contributions to the world, and those that would seek to keep us and most of the world in the dark about our sacrifice in foreign wars.

The letter ‘Y’ in ‘Poppy’, also echoes the image of open hands reaching towards the heavens in Egyptian/Kemetian hieroglyphs.

The letter ‘S’ in ‘Rose’, can be seen 2 ways, depending on your perception of it. Some may see it as if the ‘S’ stands for ‘Split’ or ‘Segregate’, whilst others may see the ‘S’ standing for ‘Syncopate’, with a path traveling through the letter. A path which leads to Overstanding, which both sides are free to travel along as they share Truths.

A poppy − being a symbol of those that have sacrificed their lives in wars, past and present − is black as it represents the sacrifice of Africans and People of the African Diaspora, in said wars. Poppies also generally have between four and six petals. The central poppy has four petals, representing the four corners of the world from which we have come, and the four corners of the world in which we have fought.

Each petal is also in the shape of a number ‘9’ − the highest number (as in, single digit), representing the highest sacrifice (Freedom and Life). The number ‘9’ has always maintained a deep significance within many African (as well as other) cultures.

There are four 9s; in the center of the 9s is a circle, symbolic of a ‘0’ (zero) for each of the 9s, giving you four 90s, for each 90 degrees of a square, or circle. The central circle is also the symbol for ‘degrees’. 4 x 9 is also 36, which stands for the ’36th parallel’.

Geographically, the 36th parallel north is a circle of latitude 36 degrees north of the Earth’s equator. At this latitude, the sun is visible for 14 hours, 36 minutes during the summer solstice (the number of letters in the logo represents the 14 hours, whereas the number of petals in the central poppy symbolizes 36 minutes). Also, 3 + 6 is 9, which takes us back to it being the highest number.

In America, it was the main dividing line between the ‘slave states’ of the North, and the ‘free-soil states’ of the South. In 1820, Congress passed the ‘Missouri Compromise’, a temporarily resolutory bill that dampened one of the first major political clashes between the interests of slavery and antislavery. With regard to the 36th parallel, which runs approximately along the southern border of the state of Missouri, the bill also made slavery north of that line, in said state, illegal.

The outer poppy has five petals. This is symbolic of the five continents, the five senses, the five elements. Once again, all the petals in the flower add up to 9. With each petal being an actual number 9 within itself, 9 x 9 = 81. 8 + 1 = 9.

The petals are surrounded by a circle (360 degrees − 3 + 6 is 9).

©A. Dee Aug. 2018