Flag of Mississippi

"The Bonnie Blue Flag" by Harry McCarthy

Mississippi

Name	Magnolia Flag
Use	Civil and state flag
Adopted	March 30, 1861 (1861-03-30)
Relinquished	August 22, 1865 (1865-08-22)
Design	A white field with a large red border and magnolia tree in the center; in the canton, one white five-pointed star on a blue field.
Designed by	Mississippi State Convention Committee to Prepare Flag and Coat of Arms for the State
Variant flag of Mississippi
Use	Civil and state flag
Design	Common unofficial flag variant (likely postbellum and used by U.C.V. camps in Mississippi), similar to the "Magnolia Flag."[5]

Before 1861, the state lacked an official state flag. When the State of Mississippi declared its secession from the United States ("Union") on January 9, 1861, near the start of the American Civil War, spectators in the balcony handed a Bonnie Blue Flag down to the Mississippi state convention delegates on the convention floor,[6] and one was raised over the state capitol building in Jackson as a sign of independence.[7] Later that night, residents of Jackson paraded through the streets under the banner. Harry McCarthy, an Irish singer and playwright who observed the street parade, was inspired to write the patriotic song "The Bonnie Blue Flag," which, after "Dixie," was the most popular song in the Confederate States at the time.[4][8]

The first flag of Mississippi was known as the "Magnolia Flag." It was the official state flag from March 30, 1861, until August 22, 1865.[5] The flag remained in use in an unofficial capacity until 1894,[lower-alpha 1] when the current version was first adopted.[9] On January 26, 1861, the delegates to the state convention approved the report of a special committee that had been appointed to design a coat of arms and "a suitable flag".[6] The flag recommended by the committee was "A Flag of white ground, a magnolia tree in the centre, a blue field in the upper left hand corner with a white star in the centre, the Flag to be finished with a red border and a red fringe at the extremity of the Flag."[10] Due to time constraints and the pressure to raise "means for the defense of the state," the delegates neglected to adopt the flag officially in January but did so when they reassembled in March 1861.[11] The Magnolia Flag was not widely used or displayed during the American Civil War, as the various Confederate flags were displayed more frequently.[12] Following the conclusion of the war, a Mississippi state constitutional convention that met in Jackson nullified many of the ordinances and resolutions passed by the conventions of 1861. Among those nullified was the 1861 ordinance "to provide a Coat of Arms and Flag for the State of Mississippi," leaving Mississippi without an official state flag.[13]

On February 7, 1894, the Legislature replaced the American Civil War era Magnolia Flag[4] with a new design that incorporated the Confederate battle flag in its canton.

The Mississippi Code of 1972, in Title 3, Chapter 3, describes the flag as follows:

§ 3-3-16. Design of state flag. The official flag of the State of Mississippi shall have the following design: with width two-thirds (2/3) of its length; with the union (canton) to be square, in width two-thirds (2/3) of the width of the flag; the ground of the union to be red and a broad blue saltire thereon, bordered with white and emblazoned with thirteen (13) mullets or five-pointed stars, corresponding with the number of the original States of the Union; the field to be divided into three (3) bars of equal width, the upper one blue, the center one white, and the lower one, extending the whole length of the flag, red (the national colors); this being the flag adopted by the Mississippi Legislature in the 1894 Special Session.[14][15]

In 1906, Mississippi adopted a revised legal code that repealed all general laws that were not reenacted by the legislature or brought forward in the new code.[16] The legislature inadvertently omitted mention of the 1894 flag. Because of this oversight, while inadvertent, the state had no official state flag from 1906 to 2001; however, this defect was not discovered in Mississippi statute until the 21st century.[17][14] In 2000 the Supreme Court of Mississippi confirmed that the state legislature in 1906 had repealed the adoption of the state flag in 1894.[18] What was considered to be the official state flag was only so through custom or tradition during the previous 94 years.[19]

2001 flag proposal

In January 2001 then-Governor Ronnie Musgrove appointed an independent commission which developed a new proposed design.[15][19] On April 17, 2001, a legally binding[20][21] state referendum to change the flag was put before Mississippi voters by the legislature on recommendation of this commission.[17]

The referendum, which asked voters if the new design prepared by the independent commission should be adopted, was defeated in a vote of 64% (488,630 votes) to 36% (267,812), and the 1894 state flag was retained.[22] The proposed flag would have replaced the Confederate battle flag with a blue canton with 20 stars. The outer ring of 13 stars would represent the original Thirteen Colonies, the ring of six stars would represent the six nations that have had sovereignty over Mississippi Territory (various Native American nations as a collective nation, French Empire, Spanish Empire, Great Britain, the United States, and the Confederacy), and the inner and slightly larger star would represent Mississippi itself. The 20 stars would also represent Mississippi's status as the 20th member of the United States.

Since Georgia adopted a new state flag in 2003, the Mississippi flag is the only U.S. state flag to include the Confederate battle flag's saltire. In 2001 a survey conducted by the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) placed Mississippi's flag 22nd in design quality of the 72 Canadian provincial, U.S. state, and U.S. territorial flags ranked.[23]

On June 9, 2020, Mississippi Today reported that lawmakers had begun gathering votes and drafting legislation to change the state flag. The action comes after weeks of national protests following the killing of George Floyd, including a protest outside the Mississippi Governor's Mansion on June 6.[32] This is the first substantial action to change the state flag since the 2001 referendum. The proposed legislation would adopt Laurin Stennis's design as the Flag of Mississippi. With the support of Republican Speaker of the House, Philip Gunn, lawmakers have begun to court Republican congress members to vote for the resolution. Speaker Gunn has ensured he will get the resolution passed through a House committee if verbal support from 30 Republicans is secured to go along with the 45 Democratic members of the House.[33] An update on June 10 showed that lawmakers believe that they had secured at least 20 Republicans that are in favor of voting for the resolution to change the flag, while 20 more are on the fence. The lawmakers' goal is to secure at least 40 Republicans to go along with the 45 Democrats needed to suspend rules to allow a bill to be considered in this session.[34] On June 11, Senate Democrats filed a resolution to change the state flag.[35] On June 24, Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann announced his support for a new flag.[36] Hosemann has been joined by Attorney General Lynn Fitch, State Auditor Shad White, Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson and Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney.[37] There is expected to be a vote on changing the flag tomorrow, June 27. There is currently no consensus on the method of changing the flag, whether it be retiring the current flag or immediately adopting another.[38]

Mississippi specialty license plate advertising the Stennis flag proposal, made available for purchase in 2019.

An alternative was devised in 2014 by local artist Laurin Stennis, granddaughter of former U.S. senator John C. Stennis.[39] Her proposal was originally dubbed the "Declare Mississippi" flag and has been popularly called the "Stennis Flag". Laurin Stennis' stated mission was to create "an image that would better capture our history and hopes without denying or romanticizing our past" and focus on HISTORY + HOPE + HOSPITALITY.[40] In June 2020, Stennis distanced herself from the effort to change the flag, citing potential harm associated with her last name. Her design has since been renamed the "Hospitality flag".[41][42]

The flag consists of a single blue star on a white field, an inversion of the white star on a blue field of the Bonnie Blue Flag[43]. It is encircled by 19 smaller stars representing each state in the Union when Mississippi joined, as well as symbolizing "unity and continuity" drawing inspiration from the artifacts of the indigenous peoples of the region. The central white field represents "faith and possibility," and is flanked on each side by a vertical red bars, representing "the blood spilled by Mississippians, whether civilian or military, who have honorably given their lives in pursuit of liberty and justice for all."[40] In an interview, Stennis said the red bars also stand for "Mississippians’ 'passionate differences' on the flag issue."[44]

Since its inception, numerous bills have been brought before the Legislature to instate the Stennis Flag, but so far none have passed.[45][46] On April 17, 2019, Mississippi governor Phil Bryant signed a new specialty license plates bill. One of the new specialty plates will include the Stennis Flag along with the phrase, "History + Hope + Hospitality". This was the first time that the Stennis flag's design received some form of state sanction by being used in an official capacity.[47][48][49]

A proposal being floated by several members of the Legislature is to create a second Mississippi flag. This flag, with a yet-to-be-determined design that did not include any Confederate images, would be used alongside the current flag. This plan was soundly rejected by Gov. Tate Reeves who compared it to the separate but equal doctrine, stating that if implemented it wouldn't "satisfy either side of this debate."[42]

On June 18, 2020, the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, Greg Sankey, announced the SEC would consider banning championship events in Mississippi until the flag is changed. The SEC is the athletic conference for the two largest universities in Mississippi, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.[50] The announcement by the conference was followed by support of changing the flag from Chancellor Glenn Boyce of The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and President Mark E. Keenum of Mississippi State University.[51][52] The athletic directors of the universities, Keith Carter (Ole Miss) and John Cohen (Mississippi State), also supported changing the flag, along with various coaches from the universities.[53][54][55][56] On June 19, the NCAA banned all postseason play from occurring in Mississippi until the flag is changed. The NCAA had previously banned predetermined events such as football bowl games and men's basketball tournament games in 2001 from occurring in the state. The new rule also bans merit based championship sites, such as baseball regionals, softball regionals, women's basketball tournament games and tennis tournament games. Ole Miss hosted both baseball and softball regionals in 2019. Mississippi State hosted a baseball regional, men’s tennis tournament games and women's basketball tournament games in 2019.[57] Also on June 19, the leaders of the eight public universities in Mississippi (Alcorn State University, Delta State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, Mississippi University for Women, Mississippi Valley State University, University of Mississippi and University of Southern Mississippi) issued a joint statement calling for a new state flag.[58] On June 22, Conference USA banned all postseason play in Mississippi until the removal of the Confederate emblem from the state flag.[59] Conference USA is home to the state's third largest university, Southern Miss, and has hosted its annual baseball tournament in Mississippi for eight of the past nine years. On June 23, presidents of the fifteen community colleges in Mississippi issued a joint statement showing their support for a new flag.[60]

On June 23, 2020, the Mississippi Baptist Convention condemned the current state flag. In a statement, Baptist leaders said, "The racial overtones of the flag's appearance make this discussion a moral issue. Since the principal teachings of Scripture are opposed to racism, a stand against such is a matter of biblical morality."[61]

On June 23, 2020, retailer Walmart announced that it would cease displaying the state flag at its 85 Mississippi store locations.[62] The retailer normally displays state flags alongside the U.S. national flag at all of its locations across the country.[63]