Flying a bicentennial banner in place of the current state flag is gaining popularity among Mississippi businesses, communities and universities.
Unveiled by the Mississippi Economic Council in October, the banner already is being flown in place of the state flag in several communities, including Kosciusko, along with every public university in the state. Delta State was the final state university to take down the state flag late last year. Mississippi's two hundredth birthday is next year. A Delta designer created a brand new symbol for the occasion.
When it was designed, the intent was not to replace the state flag that has been used since 1894; however, some MEC leaders in the past have said the Confederate battle emblem on the state flag is racially divisive and hurts economic development efforts.
Mississippi has the last state flag that includes the Confederate battle emblem. Voters chose to keep the flag in a 2001 statewide election, but the design has come under increased scrutiny since the June 2015 slayings of nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. The white man charged in the shooting deaths had previously posed, in photos published online, holding the Confederate battle flag.
The argument for keeping the state flag the same is that is represents our heritage, but is that a heritage that we should be proud of? The Confederate battle emblem is a reminder of slavery and segregation and has no place on the flag of a state with a 38 percent black population, the largest percentage of any state in the nation.
Last year, some lawmakers proposed either changing the flag or punishing universities and local governments that don't fly it. House Speaker Philip Gunn, a Republican who had advocated change, said he couldn't find consensus among House members to push any of the bills into law, and they all died.
Mississippi K-12 schools are required to fly the flag by law, but some public schools ignore the requirement. Other public agencies aren't required to display the flag, and a number of cities and counties stopped. Others have retained it.
While I am still a newcomer to Mississippi, I recognize that I have not fully grasped the heritage and the sentimental value that that flag means to some. However, I do know how other states view Mississippi and it isn’t good.
I’m not suggesting that we change the state flag to the bicentennial flag, but I would not be opposed to it. However, I would also not be opposed to a change that recognizes the magnolia flag as the new state flag.
It is time for a change Mississippi.
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Joseph Brown is the editor and publisher of The Star-Herald. He can be reached at jbrown@starherald.net
