Mississippians Vote to Replace Old Confederate-Themed Flag with 'In God We Trust' Flag

Steve Warren : Nov 5, 2020
CBN News

The public submitted nearly 3,000 flag designs. A nine-person commission—with members appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor, and House speaker—chose the magnolia flag to go on the ballot.

[CBN News] The state of Mississippi will fly a new state flag with a magnolia in the center and the phrase "In God We Trust" after voters approved the design Tuesday. (Screengrab image)

It will replace a Confederate battle flag-themed banner that state lawmakers retired months ago as part of the national reckoning over racial injustice.

The magnolia flag was the only design on the general election ballot, and voters were asked to say yes or no. A majority said yes.

Magnolia State legislators will now have to put the new flag design into law, but it's expected to pass with little fuss.

Mississippi has been without an official state flag since late June when legislators surrendered the last state banner in the US that included the Confederate battle flag emblem—a red field topped by a blue St. Andrews cross with 13 white stars. Each star stood for each state in the Confederacy.

Ironically, the battle flag was never adopted as a flag by the Confederate government, but it was flown by several units of the Confederate Army. The emblem was also used in the field design of the first and second versions of the Confederate National flag.

The battle flag was later adopted by the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups in the late 19th century. White supremacists in the Mississippi state legislature adopted the Confederate-themed state flag in 1894 amid the backlash to undermine the voting power of black people gained during the Reconstruction era.

Until this summer, a majority of state legislators were unwilling to consider changing the flag because they considered the issue too volatile. Momentum changed as protests broke out across the US after George Floyd, a black man, died in Minneapolis police custody. The final push for changing the Mississippi flag came from business, education, religious, and sports groups—including, notably, the Mississippi Baptist Convention and the Southeastern Conference.

Angela Reginal, 53, of Pearl, said she voted for the new design. Reginal, who is black, said the Confederate-themed old flag was "part of history," and although she said it never bothered her, she believed it needed to be changed.

"For me, if it offends my brother, I think it needs to be changed," said Reginal, who works for a home health agency.

A white voter at the same precinct in Pearl, Beki Routh, said she voted for the new flag but wanted to keep the old one. "If you try to erase history, you're doomed to repeat it," said Routh, 50, a bank employee.

The public submitted nearly 3,000 flag designs. A nine-person commission—with members appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor, and House speaker—chose the magnolia flag to go on the ballot. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here