There is new controversy over Mississippi’s state flag.
It began Monday after South Carolina’s governor called for the removal of the Confederate flag from that state’s Capitol grounds in the wake of a shooting that killed nine inside a historic black church in Charleston. Dylann Roof, the man accused in the shooting, is shown holding the Confederate flag in photographs on a widely circulated website that also contains a 2,500-word racist manifesto.
Now, Mississippi’s flag, which is the only state flag in the U.S. containing the Confederate symbol, is being questioned by not only citizens but by state Legislators.
“We must always remember our past, but that does not mean we must let it define us,” Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn, a Republican, said in a statement Monday afternoon. “As a Christian, I believe our state’s flag has become a point of offense that needs to be removed. We need to begin having conversations about changing Mississippi’s flag.”
Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Sen. Kenny Wayne Jones, D-Canton, told The Clarion Ledger on Monday that he and other lawmakers are looking into changing the flag for the next legislative session, which starts in January.
On Saturday, Jennifer Gunter, a Jackson native pursuing a doctorate at the University of South Carolina, started an online petition aimed at changing Mississippi’s state flag. She told The Dispatch she started the petition to honor the memory of the nine people killed in South Carolina.
She hopes the tragedy in Charleston will make people realize the symbol has been co-opted by hate groups.
“The time to change is now,” she said. “Let’s all join in and bring the South forward together.”
Gunter’s petition had 8,300-plus signatures as of 9 a.m. today.
Opposition to change
In 2001, Mississippi lawmakers put the matter of changing the state flag to a public vote. Roughly 64 percent of voters opted to keep the flag.
The Dispatch contacted Gov. Phil Bryant’s office Monday in response to the new controversy. His spokesperson volunteered that the governor was among the Mississippians who voted to keep the flag in that referendum.
“A vast majority of Mississippians voted to keep the state’s flag, and I don’t believe the Mississippi Legislature will act to supersede the will of the people on this issue,” Bryant said in a statement.
Gary Chism, a state Representative from Columbus, agreed.
“A new state flag is not going to be a part of anybody’s agenda,” he told The Dispatch on Monday morning.
Chism also cited the 2001 referendum and said the people of Mississippi did not want the flag changed. He stated two reasons.
“One is that the flag that incorporates the Southern cross is part of Mississippi’s history,” he said. “And two, I think people are just tired of other people trying to tell us in Mississippi what we should be doing.”
Chism said the emblem on Mississippi state flag was “apples and oranges” compared to South Carolina flying the full battle flag. He acknowledged that South Carolina should take down their flag but said any push to change Mississippi’s flag was part of a larger issue — the push to be ultra-politically correct.
“Look, part of Mississippi’s past is that we did secede. And that battle is over, that war is over,” he said. “Leave us alone.”
The public’s view
Prior to the 2001 referendum, the Clarion Ledger newspaper conducted a statewide poll about the flag and found that while 76 percent of whites indicated the symbol was “part of the state’s proud history” and should remain, 69 percent of African Americans said the symbol was “offensive and divisive” and should be removed.
The state’s population is approximately two-thirds white and one-third black. The vote was split nearly exactly by those numbers.
The Dispatch on Monday asked approximately 20 random people their views on the flag.
Most responses from whites expressed indifference or support of the flag. Nearly every black respondent agreed the flag should be changed.
Some were not aware the state flag contained the Confederate symbol. Some saw it as another attempt by politicians to “make everything about race.” Some even viewed the issue as an opportunity to be tolerant and optimistic.
“It’s up for interpretation,” Christina Martinez, a Macon resident, said. “You just have to give people a chance. I can see where some people find it racist, but I can see where some people don’t see it that way.”
Most respondents were not overtly enthusiastic one way or another.
Gunter has seen a similar reaction to the petition.
As the petition’s creator, she can see how many people have viewed the page. When she checked Monday morning, she said about 10,000 people have viewed the petition while only 1,800 had signed it. She compared this to the 550,000 signatures supporting South Carolina’s removal of the Confederate flag.
She has sent the petition to legislators, but so far has only heard back from one lawmaker, who was already in support of changing the flag.
“They are seeing this,” she said.
Changing sides
Hunter Corhern grew up in Starkville and now lives in Decatur. He said that in 2001, he supported keeping the flag. His view has since changed.
“I didn’t focus on the sins of the past then,” Corhern told The Dispatch on Monday. “Since then I’ve realized that I was very much out of tune with others.”
Corhern signed Gunter’s petition Monday.
“If someone from Germany wanted to celebrate their grandfather’s service in World War II, are they going to fly the Nazi flag?” Corhern said. “Honestly and truly, that’s what we’re doing, and people just don’t want to admit it.”
Jake McGraw is the editor of Rethink Mississippi, an organization that seeks to end discrimination and poverty in Mississippi. McGraw has long been an advocate of changing the state flag.
“The whole purpose of a symbol is something that can unify everyone under it,” he said. “This is such a divisive symbol that it’s failing its most basic job.”
McGraw and Corhern both said they believe many attitudes have changed since 2001. McGraw responded to one of the most common responses from Mississippians — that “it’s just a flag” and not worth the controversy.
“Removing an emblem alone won’t dismantle racism or white supremacy,” McGraw said. “But keeping it says that we won’t even try.”
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