During the George Floyd protests, city mayor Andrew Ginther requested changes to the flag due to its use of imagery related to Christopher Columbus.

Columbus, the namesake of the city, is also referenced near the center of the seal, where a ship of his fleet is depicted.

Encircling all the seal's elements mentioned above are 16 yellow five-pointed stars and a half-wreath of buckeye leaves.

[1] The flag's design has been criticized for its celebration of Christopher Columbus, a controversial figure due to his violent tendencies towards natives and colonizers[6] and for his involvement in the Atlantic slave trade.

The resolution adopting the flag read:[9] On a blue field a half-wreath of buckeye leaves, green, and a half-circle of 16 stars, the whole enclosing a national shield bearing a gilt circle in which appears a galley, or vessel, of the fleet of Christopher Columbus, after whom said city is named, said shield and vessel to be in proper colors, above and clutching the shield to be an eagle, with outspread wings, proper, guarding a gold star, making the seventeenth and representing Ohio.

Above and between the wings of the eagle to appear the cupola of the state capitol, surmounted by the lettering "Columbus, Ohio," gilt, in old English letters.Columbus's second and current flag was adopted by the city council on January 28, 1929, writing an ordinance declaring:[9] That the official flag of the city of Columbus be as follows: That the flag be made up of three vertical bars; chrome yellow at the left, scarlet red at the right, and white at the center.

That the seal and coat of arms of the city of Columbus as adopted by resolution of council, February 12, 1912, be placed on the center of the white bar.

[10] Kenneth Huff, a writer from the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA), traveled to Columbus in 1974 to take pictures of the city's flag.

It is split into four sections by a white cross in the middle, representing the intersection of Broad and High Street.

On the hoist, a light blue semicircle is tucked underneath the white cross, signifying the Scioto River and Franklinton Peninsula.

[15][16][6][11] The Columbus Art Commission was tasked with redesigning the city flag and seal, following a request from Andrew Ginther during the George Floyd protests.

A miniature version of the flag was also placed in the bottom left of the front side.

The city's seal was placed on the inside of the jersey, behind the club's badge and facing the heart.