Mississippi flag

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Historic flag? The second flag of Mississippi, which was phased out on June 30, 2020

The US state Mississippi had two flags so far . In 1861 the magnolia flag was introduced, which depicted the tree of the same name . However, it was abolished in 1865, after which Mississippi had no flag of its own for 29 years. In 1894, a new flag was finally introduced based on the colors of the former West Florida , which included parts of Mississippi from 1803 to 1817, and the Confederate States of America's flag of war . In June 2020, it was decided to abolish the previous flag and the draft of a new one was announced, on which the residents of Mississippi will vote on November 3, 2020 at the same time as the presidential election.

Previous flags

First flag

Historic flag? Flag from 1861 to 1865

Before 1861, Mississippi did not have its own flag. On March 30, 1861, the magnolia flag was introduced as the state symbol , showing a magnolia tree on a white background. In the Gösch it showed a five-pointed star on a blue background (see Bonnie Blue Flag ). The magnolia flag was used during the American Civil War , when Mississippi sided with the Confederates . However, the flag was hardly used during this time. Other Confederate flags were used more frequently. After the South had lost the Civil War, many of the previous law was canceled - including those on the Virginia Secession Convention of 1861 adopted Magnolia flag as a symbol of Mississippi. Subsequently, Mississippi did not have its own flag for 29 years.

Second flag

On February 7, 1894, the Mississippi Parliament made a new flag the national symbol. It is a design by Edward N. Scudder, which consisted of a three-volume ribbon in blue, white and red and in which jack showed the Confederate war flag. The three-cushion was based on the flag of the former West Florida (to which Mississippi had belonged from 1803 to 1817), with the upper red stripe being replaced by a blue one. The 13 stars on the Confederate flag officially represented the 13 original founding states of the United States, although the stars were sometimes interpreted as the 13 federal states (including Missouri and Kentucky, which were each divided) that break away from the Confederation during the Civil War.

A law reform in 1906 inadvertently deleted the provision that held the flag of Mississippi. As a result, Mississippi was without an official flag from 1906 to 2001. The error was only noticed in 2000. That year, the Mississippi Court of Justice confirmed that the state had no official flag. The error was then corrected.

In June 2020, the Mississippi Parliament decided to abolish the previous flag because it contained the symbol of the Confederates who had fought to maintain slavery in the Civil War .

Third flag

After the Mississippi parliament abolished the previous flag, the selection of a new flag was entrusted to a commission. The new flag will no longer contain the Confederate symbol and instead the slogan "In God We Trust". Eligible voters in Mississippi are to vote on this new flag on November 3rd at the same time as the US presidential election.

Debate about changing the second flag

Referendum to change the flag in 2001

On April 17, 2001, a referendum was held to change the flag. As an alternative, a flag was presented that would have replaced the part with the Confederate flag with a blue square with a ring of 13 gold stars (similar to the EU flag) in an outer circle and 7 stars inside. The 13 stars were supposed to represent the original 13 American colonies at the time of independence in 1776. The six stars should represent the "Six Indian Nations". The larger star in the center of the circle should represent the state of Mississippi itself. The 20 stars in total should point to Mississippi as the twentieth state in the United States.

In the referendum, a majority of 64 percent were in favor of keeping the flag and a minority of 36 percent against, so the initiative to change it failed. This voting result roughly reflected the ratio of white and African American residents of Mississippi. Mississippi is thus the only state in the USA that still uses the Confederate flag in its flag. Georgia abolished the Confederate War Flag in 2001. Arkansas and Tennessee only hint at the Confederate flag.

Discussion 2015

Magnolia flag

After the attack in Charleston in June 2015, in which a white US citizen shot and killed nine African-Americans during a Bible study in a church, the Confederate flag of war and the flag of Mississippi were discussed again. Mississippi House of Representatives spokesman Philip Gunn publicly stated that the jack (the Confederate War Flag is located in this part) of the flag of Mississippi should be changed. Jackson TV broadcaster WLBT-TV reported that some Mississippi households have started hoisting the Magnolia flag, an alternative to Mississippi's flag. Senator Roger Wicker , descendant of Confederate soldiers, also spoke out in favor of renewing the flag. The old flag "belongs in the museum". The then governor of Mississippi Phil Bryant spoke out against a change, as this was not the will of the majority of Mississippi.

Change 2020

After frequent discussions about the flag in the following years, the Mississippi House of Representatives launched a non-partisan initiative to change the flag as part of the protests following the death of George Floyd in June 2020. A total of 84 MPs spoke out in favor of and 35 against the suspension of a rule according to which a two-thirds majority in both chambers of parliament is necessary for a change of the flag. All 44 Democrats and 40 Republicans voted to suspend the rule. 35 Republicans voted against it and instead spoke out in favor of another referendum on the flag. In the Mississippi Senate , the suspension of the two-thirds majority was subsequently confirmed with 36 to 14 votes.

On June 28, 2020, the Mississippi Parliament voted on the actual flag change law. This was accepted in the House of Representatives with 91 to 23 votes and in the Senate with 37 to 14 votes. Governor Tate Reeves had already announced before the vote that he would put a corresponding law into force by signing it and that he would waive his right of veto if a parliamentary majority was found for the initiative. On June 30, 2020, Reeves signed the amendment law, whereby the previous flag lost its status as a state symbol. This makes Mississippi the last US state to erase the Confederate States' flag of war from its symbols. The selection of a new flag was entrusted to a commission. The new flag will no longer contain the Confederate symbol and instead the slogan "In God We Trust". Eligible voters in Mississippi are to vote on this new flag on November 3rd at the same time as the US presidential election.

Loyalty oath

The oath of allegiance to the flag under the Mississippi Code Ann., Section 37-13-7, 1972 reads:

I salute the flag of Mississippi and the sovereign state for which it stands with pride in her history and achievements and with confidence in her future under the guidance of Almighty God

"I greet the flag of Mississippi and the sovereign state it stands for, with pride in its history and achievements and with belief in its future under the guidance of Almighty God"

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ DW Steel: Mississippians Unite Under "Magnolia Flag". State of Mississippi, accessed June 29, 2020 .
  2. ^ The Mississippi State Flag. Netstate.com, August 29, 2017, accessed June 29, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b State flags. State of Mississippi, accessed June 29, 2020 .
  4. ↑ David G. Sansing: Flags Over Mississippi. Mississippi Department of Archives and History, August 1, 2000, accessed June 29, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Mississippi Votes to Keep Controversial Flag. ABC News, January 7, 2006, accessed June 29, 2020 .
  6. ^ Debating Flag, Mississippi Finds It Doesn't Have One. New York Times, May 5, 2000, accessed June 29, 2020 .
  7. ↑ a b Paul LeBlanc: Mississippi state legislature passes bill to remove confederate symbol from state flag in historic vote. CNN, June 29, 2020, accessed June 29, 2020 .
  8. ↑ a b Mississippi legislators vote to remove Confederate battle emblem from state flag. CNBC, June 28, 2020, accessed June 29, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Mississippi will retain its 107-year-old flag , CNN. April 17, 2001. Retrieved October 21, 2007. 
  10. ↑ Election Results (PDF) State of Mississippi. April 27, 2001. Archived from the original on November 26, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2007.
  11. ↑ Jeffrey Gettleman: Mississippi Votes to Keep Confederate Battle Cross on State's Flag. In: latimes.com . April 18, 2001, accessed July 9, 2020.
  12. ↑ Emily Wagster Pettus, Claire Galofaro: Top lawmaker: Remove Confederate sign from Mississippi flag . In: Associated Press . June 22, 2015. Accessed June 23, 2015.
  13. ↑ The Washington Times http://www.washingtontimes.com : Roger Wicker of Mississippi: 'I now believe our state flag should be put in a museum'. Retrieved June 30, 2020 (American English).
  14. ↑ Archived copy ( memento from September 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Speaker Philip Gunn: 'We need to begin having conversations about changing Mississippi's flag'
  15. ↑ Mississippi is considering a two-flag solution , Neue Zürcher Zeitung of January 15, 2018; Accessed June 21, 2020
  16. ^ Geoff Pender, Bobby Harrison: Lawmakers plan to begin voting Saturday to change Mississippi state flag. Mississippi Today, June 26, 2020, accessed June 27, 2020 .
  17. ↑ Giacomo Bologna, Luke Ramseth: LIVE UPDATES: Mississippi lawmakers clear way for historic flag vote. Clarion Ledger, June 27, 2020, accessed June 27, 2020 .
  18. ↑ Giacomo Bologna, Luke Ramseth: Changing the state flag: How Mississippi legislators made history in four hours on a rare Sunday session. Clarion Ledger, June 28, 2020, accessed June 29, 2020 .
  19. ↑ Mississippi votes to strip Confederate emblem from state flag. BBC, June 29, 2020, accessed June 29, 2020 .
  20. ^ Doha Madani: Mississippi governor signs bill into law removing Confederate symbol from state flag. NBC News, June 30, 2020, accessed July 1, 2020 .
  21. ↑ DER SPIEGEL: US state of Mississippi parts with controversial flag - DER SPIEGEL - politics. Retrieved June 29, 2020 .

literature

  • The Flag Institute (ed.): National flags of the world . Hamburg: Edition Maritim, 2000. ISBN 3-89225-402-8
  • Karl-Heinz Hesmer: Flags and coats of arms of the world. History and symbolism of the flags and coats of arms of all states . Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag, 1992. ISBN 3-570-01082-1

Web links