Nearly 20 bills attempting to deal with the state flag all died Tuesday in the Legislature after failing to move out of committee.
Legislators introduced 19 bills — 16 in the House of Representatives, three in the Senate — that tackled the flag issue from various angles. A handful of bills would have created a commission charged with redesigning the flag without the controversial Confederate battle emblem it currently bears. Others sought to withhold funding from local governments, school districts and public universities that stopped flying the state flag.
Another bill, introduced by District 83 Rep. Greg Snowden (R-Lauderdale) proposed using the “Magnolia Flag,” which was the state flag from 1861-65, as a separate, equal flag to fly alongside, or in place of, Mississippi’s current flag.
One bill, authored by District 50 Rep. John Hines (D-Greenville) attempted to put the matter to a statewide vote in November. Mississippians last voted on the flag in 2001. Nearly two-thirds voted to keep the current flag.
Controversy stirred around the state flag after the June 2015 shooting death of nine black worshippers at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The Confederate battle emblem — featured in the upper left corner of Mississippi’s flag — faced widespread scrutiny after photos of suspect Dylann Roof posing with it surfaced after the shooting.
Local action
Several cities and counties around Mississippi stopped flying the flag in the months following the South Carolina shooting.
Columbus was the first city in the Golden Triangle to pull the flag down — the city council voted unanimously to remove it from city property on July 21. Starkville followed a week later, after a 4-3 vote in favor of removing the flag.
Last month, the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors voted 3-1 to stop displaying the state flag on county-owned property. The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors has not voted on the matter.
Starkville Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn introduced the motion last June to remove the flag in Starkville. On Wednesday, she told The Dispatch she was disheartened by the Legislature’s inaction on changing the flag.
“I’m very disappointed but not surprised that the state of Mississippi lawmakers will not be removing the emblem that is a symbol that clearly represents division, oppression and hostility,” Wynn said in an email.
Wynn added she does not want a statewide vote because, she said, not enough votes would be in favor of changing the flag.
“It does not stand a chance of passing,” she said. “While there are many white Americans that want the state flag removed it would not be enough combined with the black American population of approximately 37 percent for the passage of removing the flag.”
Wynn went on to say that she believed the flag is not only divisive, but hurts the state economically, citing the restriction on NCAA tournaments in the state as an example.
“It is my belief this symbol is unacceptable on public grounds,” she said. “Governments and all public institutions represent all of our nation’s citizens equally, regardless of race.”
Oktibbeha District 1 Supervisor John Montgomery was absent from the board’s vote to remove the flag, though he’s indicated he would have opposed it had he been present.
On Wednesday, Montgomery said he opposes removing the flag from county property because, regardless of his personal views on it, it is the current state flag.
“I feel that if we as a county wanted to take it down — and we did have a majority that wanted to do it — we should have sent a petition down to Jackson and put it on the governor’s desk saying that our governing body is in favor of changing the flag,” he said. “I wouldn’t stand in the way of that. But while it’s our state flag, I would be in favor of flying it.”
Columbus Mayor Robert Smith, who brought the matter of removing the flag before the council, also expressed disappointment in the lack of action from state legislators.
“I think it’s a sad day for Columbus and Mississippi,” Smith said. “I thought the legislature would have at least put it on the ballot. I do believe if they’d put it on a referendum, a lot of people who aren’t speaking would be for a change. We always talk about unifying the state and city — what better way to unify than to change the flag?”
Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman said the Legislature’s failure to take action one way or the other doesn’t hold any bearing on Starkville’s decision to stop flying the flag. Still, he said he hoped to one day see the state move away from its current flag.
“I still hope at some point in the future, the Legislature will move forward with a change in our state flag to a symbol that unites us all,” Wiseman said.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 47 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
