The state of Mississippi has officially unveiled its newly designed state flag. With the removal of a confederate emblem, the new flag sports a white magnolia surrounded by stars with a blue background. Underneath the magnolia, the flag reads, "In God We Trust."
“When many looked at our former flag, they just saw a symbol of the state and heritage they love. But many felt dismissed, diminished and even hated because of that flag,” Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said.
“When many looked at our former flag, they just saw a symbol of the state and heritage they love. But many felt dismissed, diminished and even hated because of that flag."
The movement to remove all remnants of the confederacy from the state flag was at its strongest last summer. Following the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and several others, calls for change within the state resulted in a petition receiving 3,000 signatures in support of redesigning the state flag.
Mississippi was not the only state to make a change. State officials in Tennessee removed a bust of confederate general Nathan Bedford Forest from the state capitol. At the local level, officials in Boston have moved to remove a statue of an enslaved person kneeling before former President Abraham Lincoln.
Moving forward, lawmakers are pushing to remove the names of confederate generals from Army bases. This is a move that many members of Congress have been in favor of, but the Trump administration and the United States Army have opposed.
“We have no plans to rename any street or installation, including those named for Confederate generals,” an army spokesperson said in February.
“It is important to note that the naming of installations and streets was done in a spirit of reconciliation, not to demonstrate support for any particular cause or ideology."
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