Stow endorses redesign of Massachusetts flag and seal after resident petition

Town meeting voted in favor of a citizens petition supporting the Massachusetts Seal, Flag and Motto Advisory Commission'9s work to redesign the state flag and seal. The petitioners described historical origins of the current imagery and argued the sword above a Native figure is viewed by many as a harmful symbol. Resident petitioner Kelly Lawler reviewed the chronology from early colonial seals through an 1898 standardization of the flag and cited calls from Indigenous leaders to change the imagery.

Lawler noted that 88 other Massachusetts municipalities have passed similar resolutions and urged Stow to join the growing group supporting redesign. "This petition asks the town's people of Stow to adopt a resolution supporting the work of a state advisory commission on redesigning the Massachusetts state flag and seal," she said, summarizing the petition.

No formal legal obligations were created; the vote was a sense-of-town expression supporting the advisory commission and asking state lawmakers to prioritize a revised flag and seal. The motion passed (95 in favor, 20 opposed, 3 abstentions).