25 signatures reached
To: The Mississippi State Legislature and the Mississippi Flag Commission
To ensure that Confederate emblems and imagery aren't on the new Mississippi State Flag
This petition is to signal to the state legislature and nine-member commission that changing one Confederate emblem for another is not progress; it is political sleight of hand and contrary to the true progress that can be achieved. As such, we are confirming that we do not want Confederate imagery in the new state flag, including but not limited to designs based on the “Stars and Bars”, the “Magnolia Flag” (original and variants), the "Blood-Stained Banner”, the “Bonnie Blue Flag”, or Mississippi military flags used during the Civil War.
Why is this important?
The current state flag bill prevents the Confederate battle flag from being used in the new state flag. On the eve that the bill was voted on, Senator Melanie Sojourner asked if the bill prevented all Confederate imagery and emblems from being used on the new state flag. Senator Briggs Hopson then stated that it did not. Senator Sojourner then mentioned that Georgia’s state flag is based on another flag from the Confederacy (the “Stars and Bars”).
Details on the Flag Bill Process:
The nine-member commission must adopt a new flag by September 14th. It will then be voted on by people in November of 2020. In the 2021 session, the lawmakers still must ratify a final flag design that voters vote on in the November election. If voters reject the design, the nine-member commission gets back to work, and voters would weigh in on another design in November 2021.
On the nine-member commission, there will be at least one member from the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Mississippi Arts Commission and the Mississippi Economic Council.Contact your state representative, state senator, the Mississippi Arts Commission, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, or the Mississippi Economic Council to express your views on what imagery the new flag should and shouldn’t include.
Sources:
Bill: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2020/pdf/history/HB/HB1796.xml
Article: https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/28/live-mississippi-lawmakers-take-up-state-flag-bill/3275024001/
Details on the Flag Bill Process:
The nine-member commission must adopt a new flag by September 14th. It will then be voted on by people in November of 2020. In the 2021 session, the lawmakers still must ratify a final flag design that voters vote on in the November election. If voters reject the design, the nine-member commission gets back to work, and voters would weigh in on another design in November 2021.
On the nine-member commission, there will be at least one member from the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Mississippi Arts Commission and the Mississippi Economic Council.Contact your state representative, state senator, the Mississippi Arts Commission, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, or the Mississippi Economic Council to express your views on what imagery the new flag should and shouldn’t include.
Sources:
Bill: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2020/pdf/history/HB/HB1796.xml
Article: https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/28/live-mississippi-lawmakers-take-up-state-flag-bill/3275024001/