/Mississippi poised to pick new flag after dropping Confederate emblem

Mississippi poised to pick new flag after dropping Confederate emblem

Mississippi is poised to pick a new state flag design after state legislators voted to remove the Confederate battle emblem.

An appointed state commission will announce Wednesday its pick between two finalists for a new flag — “The Great River Flag” and “The New Magnolia,” according to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

The selected design will go before voters in November for approval.

The two still in the running were among five finalists that were unveiled late last month and which were chosen from nearly 3,000 designs submitted by the public.

“The Great River Flag”, one of five final designs for the new Mississippi state flag, outside the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, Miss., on Aug. 25, 2020.Rogelio V. Solis / AP

“The Great River Flag,” designed by Micah Whitson, “features a shield based on the 1798 seal of the Mississippi Territory below a five-point star on a blue banner,” according to the state archives department.

“The New Magnolia,” designed by Rocky Vaughan, “is anchored in the center field by a clean and modern Magnolia blossom, a symbol long-used to represent our state and the hospitality of our citizens,” the department said.

The legislature voted in June to change the flag that had flown for over 120 years by removing the Confederate battle emblem.

The approved bill called for a flag redesign that eliminated the Confederate symbol but kept the slogan “In God We Trust.”

If voters reject the selected new design, the state commission will try again for a new flag that would be presented to the legislature during the 2021 session.

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