List of Mississippi politicians, groups, businesses that support changing state flag
A growing list of politicians, business leaders and organizations have announced support for the removal of the Confederate emblem from the Mississippi state flag.
Momentum is building to replace the current flag with a new design before the end of the legislative session on Friday.
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who has said previously the flag should be changed only through a vote by Mississippians, said Wednesday he believes the state Legislature should take action to change the flag.
“Some distrust the will of the citizens and fear the public dialogue which comes with a ballot,” Hosemann said in a statement. “I am not one of those people. Changes in our hearts and minds arise from conversation, and in our Republic by the finality of the ballot box.
“However, the Legislature in 1894 selected the current flag and the Legislature should address it today. Failing to do so only harms us and postpones the inevitable.”
Gov. Tate Reeves has said repeatedly the flag shouldn’t be changed without a vote by Mississippians.
Secretary of State Michael Watson, a Pascagoula native, also said Wednesday it should be put to a vote.
If more Republicans rally behind House Speaker Philip Gunn, who has long been a proponent of changing the flag, lawmakers could take action as soon as this week.
State Reps. Jeramey Anderson, D-Moss Point, and Sonya Williams-Barnes, D-Gulfport, introduced a resolution Wednesday that would suspend rules and allow the Legislature to consider a bill to change the flag before the end of the current session on Friday.
Mississippi politicians
▪ Jeramey Anderson, Democratic State Rep.
▪ Nick Bain, Republican State Rep.
▪ Henry Barbour, national committeeman to the Republican National Committee
▪ Nicole Akins Boyd, Republican State Senator
▪ Phil Bryant, Republican former governor
▪ Mike Chaney, Republican Insurance Commissioner
▪ Clay Deweese, Republican State Rep.
▪ Lynn Fitch, Republican Attorney General
▪ Andrew “Fofo” Gilich, Republican Mayor of Biloxi
▪ Philip Gunn, Republican House Speaker
▪ Billy Hewes, Republican Mayor of Gulfport
▪ Briggs Hopson, Republican State Senator
▪ Delbert Hosemann, Republican Lt. Gov.
▪ Trey Lamar, Republican State Rep.
▪ Brandon Presley, Democratic Public Service Commissioner
▪ Bennie Thompson, Democratic U.S. Rep.
▪ Sonya Williams-Barnes, Democratic State Rep.
▪ Shad White, Republican State Auditor
▪ Roger Wicker, Republican U.S. Senator
▪ Brice Wiggins, Republican State Senator
Organizations and groups
▪ Mississippi Bankers Association
▪ Mississippi Library Association
▪ Mississippi Association of Community Colleges
▪ Mississippi Baptists
▪ Presidents for all of the state’s public universities
▪ Student Body Presidents’ Council for all public universities in Mississippi
▪ Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce
▪ Gulf Coast Community Foundation
▪ Jackson County Chamber of Commerce
▪ Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus
▪ The Goodwill of South Mississippi
▪ Mississippi House Democrats
▪ Mississippi Economic Council
▪ Southeastern Conference
▪ Conference USA
▪ NCAA
Businesses
▪ Mississippi Power
▪ Mississippi Aquarium, Gulfport
▪Entergy Mississippi
▪Roy Anderson III, AnderCorp
▪Guice & Guice Advertising, Biloxi
▪Shoofly Magazine, Bay St. Louis
▪Unabridged Architecture, Bay St. Louis
▪Mississippi Economic Council
▪Hancock Whitney
▪ Biloxi Freezing & Processing, plus subsidiaries.
For a full list of businesses on the Mississippi Coast and across the state that support changing the Mississippi state flag, visit the Mississippi Economic Council’s website.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
