{"id":6998,"date":"2016-02-18T18:11:29","date_gmt":"2016-02-18T18:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/?p=6998"},"modified":"2016-02-18T18:11:29","modified_gmt":"2016-02-18T18:11:29","slug":"legislature-and-activists-clash-over-stars-and-bars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/2016\/02\/18\/legislature-and-activists-clash-over-stars-and-bars\/","title":{"rendered":"Legislature and activists clash over stars and bars"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Deirdra Harris Glover
\n<\/strong>MC Contributor\/Staff Writer<\/em><\/p>\n

The Mississippi State flag is the last state flag to bear the \u201cStars and Bars\u201d of the Battle Flag of the Confederacy and while some want this reminder of a state marred by racial prejudice removed, others are fighting to keep the flag as it is.<\/p>\n

Recent events across the country have brought racial tension, and the state flag, to the political and ideological forefront.<\/p>\n

To name just a few, according to the CNN.com article: Confederate flag debate: A state-by-state roundup:<\/p>\n

\u2022 South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and others called for the flag to be taken down in the wake of a deadly shooting at a predominately black church in Charleston. Only July 8, 2015 after a 15-hour dramatic legislative debate, the state\u2019s House of Representatives voted for the flag\u2019s removal.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley ordered that four Confederate flags be removed from a monument on the state\u2019s capitol grounds last week — a move that came after a Democratic lawmaker filed a bill that would have done just that.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Gov. Bill Haslam has said the Confederate flag should be removed from Tennessee\u2019s Sons of Confederate Veterans specialty license plates. But proposals to end the specialty plates, at least, won\u2019t be discussed until the state legislature meets again early next year.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile in Mississippi, during the first three weeks of the legislative session, bills were filed regarding flag legislation.<\/p>\n

Senator John Horhn (D-Jackson) has presented legislation to remove Confederate symbols from the state flag. Senator Derrick Simmons (D-Greenville) has introduced a bill that would revert the state flag back to the \u201cMagnolia Flag\u201d of 1861, commissioned by the Secessionist Convention.<\/p>\n

In a joint statement with Senator David Parker (R-Olive Branch), Simmons said, \u201cFor too long we have engaged in endless debates between heritage and hate. We believe we should find a compromise that embraces history and healing. We look forward to working together in the legislature on a better way to represent Mississippi with our official flag.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several Mississippi cities have stopped flying the state flag and five public universities\u2014Jackson State University, Alcorn State University, Mississippi Valley State University, University of Southern Mississippi and the University of Mississippi\u2014have removed the state flag.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Some lawmakers feel universities have gone too far. At an Oct. 2015 Hattiesburg press conference, Gov. Phil Bryant said, \u201cI don\u2019t think they have any legal authority whatsoever to determine what the state flag is and where it flies, particularly over public buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a later Associated Press interview, Bryant elaborated \u201cI think that if you\u2019ve got a publicly funded institution like that, they should be respectful of the people of the state,\u201d Bryant said in the interview.<\/p>\n

Rep. Dana Criswell (R-Olive Branch) intends to force a definitive answer. On Jan. 19, Criswell submitted a bill that would require public colleges and universities to \u201chonor the will of the people\u201d by flying the state flag.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is shameful for a university president to believe he has the right to override the decision of the people of this state and remove their flag from their university,\u201d Criswell said via a Facebook post.<\/p>\n

Flag supporters held a rally at the Capitol on Jan. 19, one day after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday observance.<\/p>\n

Rev. Ray Peacock, a pastor at Barrontown Baptist Church, told those assembled \u201cWe\u2019re in a war, whether you know it or not. The legislature and our enemies have drawn the battle lines.\u201d<\/p>\n

If not battle lines, there are ideological lines. \u201cIt\u2019s not just a flag\u2026 symbols mean a lot and the flags we choose to fly over our institutions mean something. I can\u2019t pledge allegiance to (that flag),\u201d said Bryan Eason from the coalition One Flag For All.<\/p>\n

Justin McCreary, minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Jackson, agrees.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe flag stands for the death of every man, woman, and child that died under slavery, and that goes beyond murder, it is genocide. How can we stand proudly as one Mississippi under a flag that symbolizes genocide and ever consider ourselves people of honor and grace? The simple answer is we can\u2019t,\u201d said McCreary.<\/p>\n

U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) believes the current flag gives others a false impression about Mississippi and her people.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter reflection and prayer, I now believe our state flag should be put in a museum and replaced by one that is more unifying to all Mississippians,\u201d said Wicker in a June 2015 statement.<\/p>\n

Voters will have the opportunity to settle this debate at the polls in November 2016. There are three proposed constitutional amendments proposed.<\/p>\n

Initiatives 54 and 58 are constitutional amendments that would ensure that the current flag remains the official State Flag of Mississippi. Initiative 55 would alter the Mississippi constitution so that any state flag could not contain or reference the Confederate battle flag or the Confederacy.<\/p>\n

The following MC301 Students contributed information used in this story written by Deirdra Glover: Ronza Anderson, Maya Parker, and My\u2019Una Jones.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deirdra Harris Glover MC Contributor\/Staff Writer The Mississippi State flag is the last state flag to bear the \u201cStars and Bars\u201d of the Battle Flag of the Confederacy and while some want this reminder of a state marred by racial prejudice removed, others are fighting to keep the flag as it is. Recent events across […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6998","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-campus-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6998\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/theflash\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}