Mississippi flag still divides state

Posted on Apr 22 2016 - 7:01am by Drew Jansen

The removal of the Mississippi state flag from campus in October and the failure of multiple bills in the state legislature aiming to redesign the flag statewide haven’t ended the debate. Mississippians on both sides of the issue continue to advance their platforms.

Mississippi is the only state that has the Confederate battle emblem in its flag. Ballot initiatives for and against changing the state flag have been filed. Bills on both sides of the Legislature died in committee this session. And now, judicial involvement to change the flag leaves a vital decision in the hands of U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves.

When the state’s 2016 legislative session began in January, Democrats in the Legislature introduced bills with various proposals to change the flag. However, a lack of majority support kept any flag-related bill from reaching the House or Senate floors by the introduction deadline on Feb. 8.

That same month, Grenada attorney Carlos Moore filed a lawsuit against Gov. Phil Bryant, arguing the current Mississippi flag violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the 14th Amendment. Judge Reeves held a hearing earlier this month on whether the lawsuit can proceed, but he has not yet issued a ruling.

One of the dead bills, introduced by Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, proposed a commission to create a new flag design, one without the Confederate battle emblem, for the legislature to consider in 2017.

When that bill, with the others, failed to reach either floor, Horhn turned to the business community for political pressure.

“We (Democrats) find it very interesting that it did not take (businesses) a lot of time to come out about the same-sex discrimination bill that we passed, House Bill 1523, but they’ve been rather reluctant to go on the record in opposition to the current flag and changing it into something everyone can wrap their hands and arms around,” Horhn said.

Horhn said business owners were supportive of the cause but discouraged by the signing of the controversial “religious freedom” bill earlier this month.

Horhn’s next move was looking to get a referendum to change or preserve the flag on the ballot within the coming presidential election cycle.

For a referendum to make it to a state ballot, a ballot initiative must gather signatures equaling 12 percent of the number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Based on the last election, any initiative needs at least 86,183 signatures to appear on a ballot from 2016-2019.

Many Mississippians, however, still oppose changing the flag. Three active ballot initiatives seek to constitutionalize the current flag.

Furthermore, of the 16 flag-related bills that died in the House this year, six sought to require state-funded public institutions to fly the flag.

At the University, the Our State Flag Foundation formed from that same idea after the UM administration decided to cease flying the flag in response to resolutions from multiple campus groups.

The group’s main goal is to reinstate the Mississippi flag at all of the state’s public universities, according to UM alumnus and foundation co-sponsor Neil Maki.

“Our mission is not specifically any design of the state flag,” Maki said. “If a state school is funded by the state, we believe that school should fly the current state flag, whatever state it is. We think it’s wrong that Ole Miss, or any Mississippi school, would act as a political activist organization against the state that funds it.”

Maki said the decision to remove the flag from the University did not reflect the overall popular opinion of its students or alumni.

“Everyone always calls it the silent majority, but I think we’re speaking for a lot of people that otherwise are afraid to speak out,” Maki said.

The organization has generated almost $2,500 over six months from 70 donors, and Maki said the group has major donors, many of whom are alumni concerned with the future direction of the University.

Since its formation in October, the foundation has rented a billboard on the edge of Lafayette County, met with legislators in Jackson and promoted its cause at on-campus events.

“If anything, I think we open up a good, lively discussion,” Maki said. “It shouldn’t just be a one-sided thing, that doesn’t do anybody any good in the long term when you have hard feelings, it’s always better to have an open discussion about these matters.”