Laurin Stennis to end push to replace Mississippi state flag with her design. Here’s why
Laurin Stennis, the granddaughter of deceased Sen. John C. Stennis, is stepping away from her role in promoting the flag she designed, known by many as the Stennis flag, to replace the Mississippi state flag that features a Confederate battle emblem.
“In a continued effort to be of service, I will be stepping away from this endeavor as I understand the hurt and potential harm my last name can cause,” she said. “But I will always continue to fight for Mississippi and her people, which I consider both a duty and a joy.”
“Mississippi needs and deserves a new flag; help make it so.”
The undated note addressed to “Dear friends” was posted Sunday evening on the Mississippi Flag Facebook page.
John Stennis was a segregationist for much of his 41 years in the U.S. Senate, although his granddaughter told the Sun Herald in a January 2018 interview that he had softened later in life and kept a sign on his desk that said, “Look ahead.”
“He didn’t fly the flag,” she said at the time. “This (Look ahead) is what he taught me. That, and always put Mississippi first.”
Stennis, an artist, spent years researching and designing the flag, which some supporters are calling the Hospitality Flag.
Stennis recently told The Gallo Show on SuperTalk Mississippi that her original moniker for the flag, the Declare Flag, “was not catching on.”
Her flag design is one of several alternatives discussed to replace the current state flag, the last in the nation to feature a Confederate emblem.
Mississippians rejected a new flag in a 2001 statewide referendum.
The Legislature renewed discussions about a flag change after George Floyd died under the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis, sparking nationwide protests and removal of Confederate monuments across the South.
Mississippi universities and some local governments have removed the state flag from their properties, saying it is divisive. On the Coast, the cities of Gulfport and Bay St. Louis have most recently removed the state flag.
