Bio

Mr. Rodney David Deal is an esteemed descendant of an enslaved African American ancestry.  He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Mr. Deal was educated in the Detroit Public Schools System and his post-secondary learning experiences were at Lawrence Technological University, Wayne County Community College District, University of New Mexico, and Wayne State University.  Rodney David Deal is an author, lecturer, curator, educator, sociologist, vexillologist, and historian.

Mr. Deal created the Flag of Remembrance 1865 in response to honoring an epiphany he experienced on April 14, 2004. Serendipitously, the date of the epiphany marked the 139th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln being inflicted with a gunshot wound on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, which led him to succumbing to the assassination the following day. Over the past fifteen years, Mr. Deal has expanded the theoretical framework through extensive research to support the importance of the flag's symbolism and value with relevant facts.

Please peruse the chronology of publications and events related to the Flag of Remembrance 1865 below:

Sponsors (Past)

Comcast

Comerica Bank 

Compuware

Testimonial Resolution

Detroit City Council 

Office of Councilwoman Brenda Jones issued the Testimonial Resolution for the Flag of Remembrance 1865 on Friday, December 7, 2007, at the Detroit Historical Museum. 

Publication 

Deal, Rodney David. “Freedom Confirmed: The Flag of Remembrance 1865.”  Vexillum: Research and News of the North American Vexillological Association No. 7 (September,  2019): 16. 

Presentations 

Rhonda Walker Foundation

4th Annual Juneteenth Celebration (2024)

Pfizer Pharmaceutical Company

Inaugural Juneteenth Celebration (2024)

Macomb Community College - Lorenza Cultural Center

Freedom Confirmed Program (2024)

North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) 

“NAVA Interest Area Meeting on Flag Design” Virtual. (2020)

Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)

“Hallowed Ground” 101st Annual Conference in Richmond, Virginia. (2016)

North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) 

“NAVA 50” 49th Annual Conference in San Jose, California. (2016)

Harris Stowe State University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Inaugural Installation of 19th President Dr. Dwaun J. Warmack. (2015)

The Lincoln Museum, Fort Wayne, Indiana. (2007)

“Courage Creates Change” in honor of the observance of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.

Exhibitions

Macomb Community College - Lorenza Cultural Center

• Freedom Confirmed: President Abraham Lincoln's Courage to Create Change Exhibition February 24, 2024, through April 27, 2024.

Freedom Confirmed Pop-Up Museum at The Meeting Place Arts and Cultural Center.

• Freedom Confirmed: President Abraham Lincoln's Courage to Create Change Exhibition June 17, 2022, through October 31, 2023.

Juneteenth Celebration - Freedom Confirmed: Flag of Remembrance 1865 Pop-Up Exhibition.

• Mack Market, Detroit, MI. (2018)

Freedom Confirmed: The 150th Anniversary of the 13th Amendment, Let Freedom Ring! Traveling Exhibition.

• Harris Stowe State University, St. Louis, MO. (2015 – 2020)
• Historic First Congregational Church of Detroit/Underground Railroad Museum, Detroit, MI.  (2015)
• Multicultural Museum of African American History, Scottsdale, AZ. (2015)

Freedom Confirmed: The 142nd Anniversary of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America Exhibition.

• Detroit Historical Museum, Detroit, MI. (2007 – 2008)
• Multicultural Museum of African American History, Scottsdale, AZ. (2007)

Author

The Flag of Remembrance 1865: In Commemoration of the Thirteenth Amendment. (2006)

Affiliations

Association for the Study of African American Life and History - Member

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History – Member

Detroit Historical Society – Member

North American Vexillological Association – Member

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture – Ambassador