Mississippi governor rejects ‘separate but equal’ 2-flag plan
JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Monday that he’s against having two state flags — the current banner with the Confederate battle emblem that critics see as racist, and a yet-to-be-determined design that would erase Confederate images.
“Over the weekend there has been a proposal floating amongst some in the Legislature to create a second Mississippi flag. Let’s call it the ‘Separate but Equal’ flag option,” Reeves said Monday on social media.
He said having two flags would further divide the state.
“I don’t believe it would satisfy either side of this debate, and I don’t think it is a viable alternative,” Reeves said.
Confederate symbols have come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks amid protests against racial injustice across the United States, and monuments are being toppled in some states. Mississippi has the only state flag that includes the Confederate battle emblem, a red field topped by a blue X with 13 white stars.
White supremacist Mississippi lawmakers set the flag design in 1894 during the backlash to political power that African Americans gained during Reconstruction. People who voted in a 2001 statewide election chose to keep the flag, but the rebel symbol has remained divisive in a state with a 38% Black population.
Mississippi legislators have the power to change the flag, just as they have changed other state symbols. Several years ago when Reeves was lieutenant governor and was presiding over the state Senate, legislators added “In God We Trust” to the state seal.
Reeves, however, has said repeatedly that if the flag is going to be redesigned, he thinks it should be done in another statewide election. He said Monday on social media that “any attempt to change the current Mississippi flag by a few politicians in the Capitol will be met with much contempt.”
The Legislative Black Caucus said in a statement Monday that legislators should vote to change the flag during the current session, which is set to end in a few days.
“We want one unifying flag that does not incorporate Confederate symbols or connotations,” said the caucus chairwoman, Democratic Sen. Angela Turner Ford of West Point. “Our constituents, student athletes and businesses deserve better.”