Cornell Fowler, an African American Community Leader and former Campaign Manager for Councilman George Flagg stated in the Des Moines Register on April 18, 2006:

“George literally gave money to every black church in town. He helped pay for black kids to go to college. And he gave his money quietly, without fanfare.”

During his tenure on the City Council, George Flagg mentored mayor Preston Daniels, who is Black, urging him to enter politics.

George Flagg believed that one of the best ways to support the community was to sponsor or financially assist an immigrant family.    

Rhina Canosa, a Des Moines resident, was a recipient of support from George Flagg.                                                                           

“I have known George Flagg since I arrived in this country in January 1981. Our country had exploded in a civil war and my husband, my 13 month-old daughter and I had fled the country in fear for our lives with just two suitcases.

Mr. Flagg was immediately interested in helping in any way he could to help us make a new life in this country. As an attorney he began to use his skills to help us through the asylum process. He was often frustrated at the long and complicated immigration rules presented to people in our situation.

Mr. Flagg was not only generous with his legal assistance but also with his resources. When he realized that we needed a car, he offered to assist us financially. That car helped my husband and I get back and forth to our jobs, needed to help support our small family.

Mr. Flagg was always kind and giving to us. He wanted to learn all that he could about our culture. He liked to celebrate our successes, spend time with us, and learn about our Salvadoran culture.”

In a July 21, 1980 Des Moines Tribune article, Flagg stated, “When you’ve been in all aspects of life, then you get a better idea of what it’s all about,” he said.

Despite the image, Flagg says he hasn’t always been the conservative he is today. When he was 18, and worked up to 80 hours a week in a munitions factory outside Des Moines, he was an assistant union steward, he said.

And during his college days at the University of Iowa, he “was a real radical.”

It seems the barbers back then didn’t want to cut blacks’ hair and “I went six or seven months without a haircut in protest,” Flagg said.

According to Des Moines community leader Lyla Yost, George also helped many other neighborhoods in Des Moines like Riverbend, Drake, Pioneer Columbus and Sherman Hill that also had higher rates of minority population. He supported the Hispanic organization LULAC, for city funding and also gave privately. George supported and voted for additional city funding for neighborhood revitalization for all parts of Des Moines.

Yost was aware of the liquor license controversy that George brought forward at the city council. He was very frustrated that some local businesses represented by the minority community were breaking the law and registering liquor sales under food sales and defrauding food stamp rules and regulations.

Flagg’s intent was misinterpreted.

Yost stated, “George was not a racist…he treated us all equally and with respect with only one requirement: follow all laws and always do your civic duty to improve Des Moines and always vote, no matter your political party affiliation.”

George Flagg’s legacy is defined by bridging divides through quiet philanthropy, passionate advocacy, and genuine cultural exchange, he left a lasting impact on Des Moines.