I never really thought I’d ever call anywhere but Texas home.
Freshman year was a culture shock for me.
I was coming from Dallas, the bustling metroplex I had lived in my entire life. Suddenly, I was in a small town, living on a beautiful campus, yes, but surrounded by people with whom I felt I had virtually nothing in common. I didn’t see eye to eye with everyone around me, and I didn’t know what to do.
For freshman me, it was hard to adjust— I was a brat fresh out of a Texas prep school living in a place with different customs and history. The more I learned about Ole Miss and Oxford, the more I understood, but it was hard for me to adopt and accept the ways of the Deep South.
So freshman me coped through apathy. I don’t live in Mississippi, I told myself; I live in Texas. I just go to school here, and in a few years I will leave. This isn’t my home; it’s just a place where I stay.
So why do I care if the flag features a Confederate symbol?
I wasn’t too comfortable with it, but it didn’t feel like my place to have an opinion. I’d heard both sides of the argument and listened patiently, but it didn’t matter what I thought anyway. It’s not my tradition, and it’s not my history. You guys can duke this out on your own.
But I’ve changed my mind. During my time at Ole Miss, I admit I’ve grown to know and love this place. I’ve learned your history. I’ve celebrated your traditions, and I’ve come to realize what it means to brand that world famous Mississippi state pride.
At the rally last week, I watched someone holding up the Mississippi state flag not to show his state pride but to display his hate. He held up the flag with the sole purpose of expressing his opinion, and his opinion was racist. He held up that flag as an act of terror, of defiance and of oppression.
Mississippi, your flag has been defiled.
It no longer represents your state. It’s been stolen by the people who refuse to let go of an outrageously hateful and prejudiced mindset that different races are not equal. When the KKK rolls up on campus and claims “This is our flag. It symbolizes our heritage,” they have already taken that flag from you.
Whatever it meant before is gone; they’ve hijacked it with their message of terror and hate.
When I think of Mississippi now, after living here for three years, I think of the natural beauty of the open sky, the wisdom and strength of the trees, the irresistible smell of a home-cooked meal.
I think of the friendships I’ve forged here and the people who saw me as an outsider but opened themselves up to me to share their history and their tradition. As your friend, your adopted daughter, Mississippi, I am here to tell you your flag doesn’t fit you any more.
Ole Miss, it’s time to stand up for your state.
Don’t sit back and let hate wave above your heads disguised as tradition. Respect Mississippi, respect her people, and take down the flag.
