CHARLES A. BOGGS: Remove the flag to improve Mississippi

Congratulations to Ole Miss and USM for their leadership in removing the Mississippi flag from campus.

Perhaps Gov. Phil Bryant will now have the political courage to convene a special session of the Legislature to debate whether the Confederate battle flag should be replaced on the Mississippi flag.

Governor, in deciding what to do, please consider the following:

n Mississippi is ranked 50th in median family income ($36,919) and 50th in per capita income ($20,618).

n Mississippi is ranked 49th for high school education standards.

n Mississippi is ranked last in percentage of citizens to complete high school (including equivalency) and 49th in math proficiency.

Now, governor, ask yourself: "If I were the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, would I consider building a manufacturing plant or distribution center in Mississippi?"

Governor, hold that thought and please ask yourself next: "What could I do to improve the national and international perception of Mississippi as 'the last place state'?"

Hint: Ole Miss and USM just did it.

Governor, please consider honoring the past and embrace the future -- begin the legal process (by calling the Legislature into session), and thereby signal that Mississippi is ready to join all other Southern states in removing the Confederate battle flag from our flag.

Admittedly, this step will not get us off the bottom in income and education. But it would be a very loud bugle call that we are moving to improve ourselves, now and for the future.

CHARLES A. BOGGS

Long Beach

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 7:31 PM with the headline "CHARLES A. BOGGS: Remove the flag to improve Mississippi ."