Anarchist Black Flag

Facts about the Flag of Anarchist Black Flag

1. The plain black flag was in use from the 1880s; the diagonally divided black and red version emerged later to represent anarcho-syndicalism specifically.
2. Black was chosen precisely because it is the negation of a flag — the absence of colour rather than a national palette.
3. The plain black flag of the anarchist movement, in use since the 1880s.
4. The flag belongs to the anarchist movement. It is used worldwide.
5. It was founded in the 1880s.
6. The flag was adopted in 1880.
7. The design is 146 years old as of 2026.
8. Construction: Horizontal stripes.
9. It is normally drawn to a ratio of 3:5, which makes it rectangular.
10. The flag uses a single colour: black.
11. The black stands for the negation of all flags and the rejection of the state.
12. Plain black: Adopted in the 1880s as the deliberate opposite of the coloured banners of nations.
13. Black was chosen as the negation of all national flags; the black and red diagonal version stands for anarcho-syndicalism.
14. It is filed here under Signal, Sport and Symbolic Flags, one of the categories of flag that belong to no country.