Commission chooses nine finalists for Miss. flag
It’s down to nine finalists for Mississippi’s next state flag.
Design themes still alive Friday included magnolia blossoms and trees, wavy lines signifying the Mississippi River, 20 stars representing when Mississippi joined the Union, and symbols of Native American culture including diamond shapes.
“When people see our flag, they need to recognize immediately that it’s Mississippi, OK?” said J. Mack Varner of Vicksburg, one of nine flag commission members who debated their favorite designs on Friday.
After the commission ranked its favorites in recent days, members on Friday eliminated several options and tweaked others. They originally planned to vote on five finalists, but opted to hold off until Tuesday.
The public will be able to comment on those five before the commission makes a final selection Sept. 2. That design will then go before voters in November for approval. The process of choosing a new flag was put in motion when lawmakers earlier this summer voted to remove Mississippi’s previous banner, which featured the Confederate battle emblem. It had been in use since 1894.
State officials said about 3,000 designs were submitted by Mississippians by an Aug. 1 deadline. Since then, commissioners first picked 147 proposals they liked, which was cut down to 11 through a ranking process. A mosquitocentric flag briefly captured the public’s imagination but did not make the cut.
Another notable flag not considered by commissioners was the Hospitality Flag, previously known as the Stennis Flag, which has long been viewed as an unofficial alternative to the Confederate-themed banner. The flag’s designer, Laurin Stennis, didn’t want it considered, said Katie Blount, director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
All of the flags still under consideration include the words “In God We Trust,” as mandated by the flag-change legislation. And several share broad design themes or colors. Most are dominated by red, white or blue, though two — which both included magnolias — were mostly green.
Commissioner Betsey Hamilton argued green and magnolia design themes are the way to go.
“We’ve had (the magnolia) everywhere except on our flag,” adding the state should “complete this brand.” She said a green flag would stand out among other states, which typically use some variation of red, white and blue.
Commissioner TJ Taylor also advocated for a magnolia design, but one that included a tree and a blue background. The simplicity of the design, which includes 20 stars, would be “easy to brand for our state,” he said, “and you still get the magnolia.”
Blount told the commissioners the agency had heard several concerns about a magnolia-centric design, however. The flag chosen when Mississippi seceded featured a magnolia tree, she noted, and several people have voiced concerns it might be viewed as “a symbol of the Old South.”
Commissioners agreed a flag that explicitly said “Mississippi” would not be visually appealing, and they nixed a design that prominently featured the state name. They also killed off a flag they deemed too basic that only featured a circle of stars surrounding “In God We Trust.”
“They need to look at it, and they need to think Mississippi,” explained Commissioner Sherri Carr Bevis.
Commissioners agreed to keep one design that features the outline of the Mississippi River. But they asked a graphic designer to change it slightly so that it didn’t show so much of a neighboring state: “I don’t want to see Louisiana on our flag,” Varner said. He added he also didn’t want Mississippi’s banner to have any resemblance to Texas’ flag, which features a large star.
The flag submission with the biggest marketing campaign so far may be The Great River Flag, which was designed by Micah Watson, an Ole Miss graduate who lives in the Boston area. It features a shield. An associated website explains the significance of each symbol, including ripples of the Mississippi River, stripes representing the 13 colonies, 20 marks representing when Mississippi was admitted to the Union and more.
Some commissioners on Friday worried the shield looked a little too much like the logos of two prominent companies: Union Pacific Railroad and Kswiss shoes. But Commissioner Frank Bordeaux said those similarities could be overcome. “This design has been replicated over the years (because it) has been recognizable,” Bordeaux said, adding the design “could easily be branded for our state.” Blount noted her agency has already received 700 emails in support of the flag.
Commissioners frequently returned to the issue of how to incorporate Native American symbolism in the final designs. In several cases they agreed to work in diamond shapes or a starburst design.
A nonbinding poll posted on the MDAH website, mdah.ms.gov, asks the public to choose their favorite of the finalists. Blount cautioned some of the designs may drop out automatically if any of the flags’ designers don’t agree to a copyright contract state officials have drawn up.