The new Mississippi state flag design was chosen on Wednesday, two months after state legislators voted to remove the Confederate war symbol.
The appointed state commission voted for “The New Magnolia” flag on “The Great River Flag” from 8 to 1 Wednesday.
The “The New Magnolia” flag will go to voters in November for approval. The commission to redesign the Mississippi state flag also agreed Wednesday to brand the “The In God We Trust” flag.
“New Magnolia,” designed by KeyWaun, “anchored in the center area by a clean and modern Magnolia Blossom, long used to represent the hospitality of our state and our citizens,” according to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. .
“New Magnolia also represents Mississippi’s hope and spirit of rebirth, as Magnolia often blooms more than once and blooms long. New Magnolia is attractive and updated to represent Mississippi’s further progress,” according to the department.
Sixty percent of those polled also chose the “The New Magnolia” flag.
The commission to redesign the Mississippi state flag on Wednesday discussed putting both final flags on the ballot, but it was decided that if a flag was presented to voters in November, they would need to vote immediately.
If voters reject the new design chosen, the state commission will try again for a new flag that will be presented to the legislature during the 2021 session.
“The New Magnolia” and “The Great River Flag” were among the five finalists that were unveiled late last month and selected from nearly 1,000,000 designs unveiled to the public.
According to the State Archives Department, “The Great River Flag,” designed by Micah Whitson, featured a shield based on the 1798 seal of the Mississippi Territory under a five-pointed star on a blue banner.
The legislature voted in June to change the flag by removing the Confederate war symbol that had flown for more than 120 years.
The approved bill called for redesigning the flag which abolished the federal symbol but kept the “in God we trust” motto. Confederate monuments were being removed across the country and the bill was passed amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
Mississippi was the last state in the nation to have a flag emblazoned with the Confederate symbol.
Among those calling for a flag change was the Mississippi Baptist Convention, which has 500,000 members in more than 2,100 churches.
And, the NCAA’s Southeastern Conference warned that it could ban the holding of SEC championship games in the state if the Confederate symbol is not removed.
Tate Reeves, the government that approved the flag-waving bill after the matter should go to voters earlier, said at the time that the state would still need to bring residents together in support.
“We should not be under any illusion that the vote in the capital should be the last – the work we have done to bring the state together and I intend to work day and night to do that,” Reeves said as an MLA. . The weight of the matter in late June. “We must find a way to come together. To heal our wounds, to forgive, to make sure the page is turned, to trust each other. With God’s help, we can do this.”
