As the cancel culture of the left continues to push our history out the door, Mississippi and its controversial flag have become the latest target. The flag, which includes the Confederate emblem, is the only remaining state flag that stills bears the image. Although, if the left has anything to say about it, it won’t for much longer.
In fact, the process of removing it and replacing it with another more acceptable and “divisive” version has already begun.
On Sunday, state lawmakers voted to change the flag. And according to the Associated Press, both the House and the state’s Senate passed the legislation in close succession.
Now, the measure will move on to Governor Tate Reeves’ office for his approval and signature.
However, there is little doubt that Reeves will not agree with the new bill, as he has already admitted that he would sign such a bill into law if one could be agreed upon.
He tweeted on Saturday, “The legislature has been deadlocked for days as it considers a new state flag. The argument over the 1894 flag has become as divisive as the flag itself and it’s time to end it. If they send me a bill this weekend, I will sign it.”
The week before, Reeves had tweeted that the idea of putting a new flag to the vote was being proposed by a few within the state legislations.
However, he made it clear that this “Separate but Equal” flag option, as he called it, was not necessarily a good idea. In fact, he said it would be something that would “actually divide our state more.”
Reeves explained himself by saying that the only way the state could ever change the flag was if state legislation came together and wholly agreed upon it.
He said, “We must work together to find a solution where, when everyone has their say, we can come back together as a family and prosper. We must work together to find a solution that, once all is said and done, unites us a people proud of our future.”
Following this announcement and opinion, Mississippi State University’s star running back Kylin Hill made sure his feelings on the matter were heard, even threatening to sit out the next season if the flag was not changed.
He wrote, “Either change the flag or I won’t be representing this State anymore & I mean that … I’m tired.”
And Hill isn’t the only one with the same idea.
In the weeks following the wrongful death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the one and only black NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace demanded that the organization ban the Confederate flag from all of their products, speedways, and properties. So they did.
Reeves’ more recent decision and apparent change of heart have led many to believe that significant changes like this, added with statements such as Hill’s, have put added pressure on the governor to consider changing his long-held policy of keeping the controversial emblem.
And they could be right. After all, it’s not every day that national organizations as big as NASCAR change their policy to condemn an emblem that has become your state’s most recognizable image.
Then again, as he and several others have suggested, this might just be what is best for the state at this time. As a southern state with high black American populations, Mississippi has the potential to be affected by civil unrest more so than most.
And as governor, Reeves needs to make sure that both sides, political or otherwise, are heard and have their needs met.
If and when Governor Reeves signs the bill into law, work will then begin on designing a new state flag. A commission will be appointed to do so, requiring that the well-known battle emblem of the Confederates not be included.
Another requirement of the proposed law states that the phrase “In God We Trust” must be on the new flag.
Once the flag is designed, it will be included on the voting ballot in November. If approved by the majority of state residents, the new flag design will become the official state flag.
If the majority doesn’t like it, then the commission will have start all over to design another one, and the process will continue until one rendering is deemed acceptable.
In either case, the change is likely to be a controversial one. It will interesting to see how this plays out in the upcoming weeks.
