A black armband is an armband that is coloured black to signify that the wearer is in mourning or wishes to identify with the commemoration of a family member or friend who has died.
In sport, especially association football, cricket, and Australian rules football, players will often wear black armbands following the death of a former player or manager.
Black armbands are also worn by uniformed organizations, such as the police, fire services or military, at the funeral or on the death of a sovereign.
Historical gallery
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Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia wearing a black armband in a 1614 portrait
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William Tecumseh Sherman in May 1865, wearing a black ribbon after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln
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Leopold III of Belgium, wearing a black armband contemporary with his ascension to the throne following the death of his father, Albert I
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Franklin D. Roosevelt wearing a black armband in mourning of his mother
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A man wearing a mourning band on his lapel in a glassworks, Sweden, ca 1940–41
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A Berks County sheriff wearing a mourning band on his badge, in Washington, DC, 2012
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Use in protest
Main article: Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School DistrictIn 1965, five students in Des Moines, Iowa, protested silently against the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands in school. The resulting suspension and legal challenges led in 1969 to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines, which held that the students' armbands did not create a "substantial disruption" and therefore were constitutionally protected under the First Amendment.
Main article: Black armband protestAt the 2003 Cricket World Cup in Harare, two players from the Zimbabwe national cricket team wore armbands made of black electrical tape to symbolically mourn "the death of democracy" in Zimbabwe. This protest was praised abroad and condemned locally, and both men ultimately moved to the United Kingdom.
See also
References
- Sunam, Ashim (2016-12-15). "History of black armbands and its use in sports including football, cricket among others". www.ibtimes.co.in. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
- "Why are England wearing black armbands for Boxing Day Test?". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
- Rudberg, Ulrika (12 May 2012). "Moderna sorgtecken ersätter sorgbandet". Arbetarbladet. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
- "Mourning Band Protocol". www.odmp.org. The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc. Retrieved 12 November 2024.