Majority wants Mississippi state flag replaced for 1st time in history, poll shows
Pressure is mounting on the Legislature to change the state flag in the wake of George Floyd’s death, with a new poll showing a majority of Mississippians for the first time favor ridding the state of its official flag featuring a Confederate battle emblem.
The Mississippi Economic Council has released poll data showing that 55% of Mississippians favor changing the flag, compared to 54% who were not in favor of a change just 18 months ago.
With the legislative session set to recess Friday, time for a vote is short. Not until Wednesday did Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann announce that he thought the Legislature should act on changing the flag.
Like Governor Tate Reeves, Hosemann had previously indicated he favored another statewide vote. A referendum to change the flag failed in 2001.
Sentiment shifted dramatically after the recent killing of George Floyd, a Black man, under the knee of Minneapolis police officer. Across the nation and on the Mississippi Coast, crowds are protesting the treatment of Blacks by police and racism in America.
Confederate monuments have come down across the South.
Opposition to state flag grows
In South Mississippi, both Gulfport and Bay St. Louis recently removed state flags from municipal properties, The city of Biloxi decided to take down its state flag in mid-2015 after a white man gunned down nine members of a Black congregation in Charlotte, S.C. and photos of him with a Confederate flag surfaced.
Protesters also are calling on the Harrison County Board of Supervisors to take down a Confederate monument at the Gulfport courthouse.
The board’s lone Black member, Kent Jones, is sponsoring resolutions to take down both the monument and state flags on county property.
Both Walmart and the Mississippi Baptist Convention have come out in support of replacing the state flag, the last in the nation with a Confederate battle emblem. The NCAA has announced a ban on all championship events in Mississippi as long as the current state flag flies.
The nationally recognized Tarrance Group conducted the poll that MEC released, which showed that 72% of those who want the flag changed support a state flag that features the Mississippi seal and includes the motto, ‘in God We Trust,’ the MEC’s statement says.
Poll shows support for state seal flag
“In the nearly 20 years we have held the position of changing the state flag, we have never seen voters so much in favor of change,” said Scott Waller, President of MEC, the state’s chamber of commerce. “These recent polling numbers show what people believe, and that the time has come for us to have a new flag that serves as a unifying symbol for our entire state.
“As we seek to recover from crippling economic losses from COVID-19, we must show Mississippi is open for business to everyone – and no person should feel left out. Our state flag must be the flag for all of our people, and I cannot think of a better change for our state than to include the national motto ‘In God We Trust,’ which was also recently added to our state’s seal.”
This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 4:33 PM.
