Is Mississippi getting a new flag? Magnolia design put to vote as state moves on from dark, racist past
A new Mississippi state flag design was chosen on September 2, 2020, two months after state legislators voted to remove the Confederate battle emblem that’s widely seen as racist.
An appointed state commission voted 8 to 1 for 'The New Magnolia' flag over 'The Great River Flag'. The final two designs that were selected out of about 3,000 proposals were submitted for consideration to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. 'The New Magnolia' flag will go before voters in the month of November for approval.
The old controversial state flag that was adopted in 1894 – lost its influence during the latest wave of anti-Confederate sentiment spurred by the May 25, 2020 death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police. The flag had been divisive for decades in a state where 38 percent of the population is Black, versus 12.7 percent nationwide. The final push for change came from business, education, religious and sports groups of the state - including, notably, the Mississippi Baptist Convention and the Southeastern Conference of the state.
“We’ll send a message that we live in the future and not in the past,” former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Reuben Anderson, the flag commission chairman, said after the vote. "More than any other time in our country, we need the mercy and grace of God," said commission member TJ Taylor, who is an Attorney and Police Director for the state House speaker.
Graphic designer Rocky Vaughan of Ackerman, Mississippi, created the overall design of the magnolia flag, which was altered with work from others. "What I wanted to do was show every Mississippian that there´s a compromise out there," said Vaughan. "Our flag should reflect the beauty and good in all of us. It should represent a state that deserves a positive image," he added. He further said, "The New Magnolia Flag represents the warmth and strength of the good people of Mississippi. Now is the time we show the world that we're from Mississippi, the Magnolia State."
The Magnolia design on the flag was submitted by a Greenwood native living in San Francisco, named, Sue Anna Joe. Joe's parents were born in China, then in 1960 they moved to the US. According to Joe, as a person of Chinese background growing up in Mississippi, she felt 'disassociated' with the flag the state had used since 1894. She heard White people say the Confederate symbol represented their ancestors and African Americans say it represented slavery. 'I felt like I was part of a broken family,' she said. Joe said that she chose a magnolia because she believes the flower is an easily recognizable symbol of Mississippi.