Mississippi now has 5 state flag options. Which one will go before voters?
The commission to select a new Mississippi state flag narrowed the list from eight to five on Tuesday morning.
Those five designs will be put on fabric, and the commission will take public input from Mississippians to determine the final option that will be placed before the voters on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Reuben Anderson, who is the chair of the commission, stepped in to break a tie when the fifth-place option was tied following a vote by the nine-person panel.
Anderson chose the design that features an outline of the western border of the state over the flag that has a winding river down the right side of the design.
Before stepping in to make the call on the tie-breaker, Anderson explained why he felt it necessary to that he break the tie.
“One of the great days of my life was when that flag came down,” Anderson said of the former flag that featured the Confederate emblem. “We’re at the point where a decision needs to be made.”
Joining that flag will be the The Great River Flag, two other designs that feature a Magnolia flower at the center with panels down each side and the blue flag that has a Magnolia tree in the center.
On Sept. 2, the commission will gather again to choose the final design.
The green version of the flag that featured a Magnolia tree was removed from the options early during Tuesday’s meeting, and there were slight tweaks made to other flags, including the enlargement of the Magnolia in the red and white flag that features a winding river to the right of the design.
The previous round of elimination included the addition to each flag of a gold star that is comprised of four diamonds to represent the Choctaw community, which has the largest Native American presence in Mississippi.
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 10:07 AM.
