When Mississippians went to the polls in 2000 to vote on whether to change the state flag or not, many of those in favor of keeping the flag of 1894 argued that the proposed flag lacked any historical significance. Others argued that it was just plain ugly and uninspiring.

Most of the Mississippians who were in favor of replacing the old flag argued that there were racist overtones to the flag. Specifically, they objected to the use of the Confederate Battle Flag in the canton, which they associate with Mississippi's racist past.

The proposed flag of 2000 was intended to be a compromise between the two sides. In place of the Confederate emblem, a set of stars was placed in the canton that was supposed to represent something of historical significance. In this attempt, the compromise failed. Two-thirds of Mississippians failed to accept the compromise as historically appropriate.

The lesson learned in this proposal is that history is real for Mississippians. And though they may have a somewhat distorted view of what that history is, it is of utmost importance to them. Stars, in the end, are just stars. Tradition holds that they may represent states of the union, but they don't represent foreign governments, nor the order in which a state was admitted to the Union. The order of their state's admittance into the Union is not as important to Mississippians as it is for Delawarians or for Hawaiians. A symbol is only worth its weight as a symbol if that which it represents is recognized by the great majority of people.

What Mississippi demands in a state flag is one that holds a recognized historical significance. It must also hold an element of continuity between the past and the present. It must identify the state's Southern heritage while not offending the racial concerns of African-American citizens.

The Magnolia Flag of 1861 goes a long way in satisfying these requirements. It incorporates the Bonnie Blue Flag, long associated with Southern identity, and the Magnolia tree, which is the official and recognized symbol of the state. It was adopted by the Mississippi legislature to represent the Republic of Mississippi in 1861 following the state's secession from the Union.

   

My proposal goes one step further, in that it incorporates elements of the present flag that would, in itself, become historical once it is replaced. It also incorporates the familiar into a new flag.

In this proposal, the old Magnolia Flag, which is the only flag to have official status in Mississippi prior to 2000, is incorporated into the non-offensive elements of the 1894 flag. The Bonnie Blue flag in the canton represents Mississippi's Southern identity (without bringing into account racist ideals). The Magnolia tree, of course, represents the state itself as the state's official tree which bears the state's official flower. Originally on the 1894 flag, the red, white, and blue stripes were intended to represent Mississippi's French colonial past. However, as the Tricolors of the French Republic never flew over Mississippi, it is historically inaccurate and was never recognized by most Mississippians as representing the French. (If the state's French colonial past is important enough to be represented on the flag, a fleur de lis of Royal France is more appropriate somewhere on the new flag. However, it would then be approprate to incorporate the Spanish lion of Leon and/or the castle of Castille. This can have the effect of cluttering the flag. And, as the original symbolism of the stripes was never recognized, it is really irrelevant to attempt to incorporate these elements in the new flag. Therefore, I have chosen to omit such symbols.) When pressed to identify the meaning of the red, white, and blue stripes, most Mississippians identify them as the American colors, thus associating Mississippi as an American state. I believe this is historically relevant. "It works."

Finally, as an amateur vexillogist (a person who studies the meaning and designs of flags), one of my biggest pet peaves about the 1894 flag was the inability of some flagmakers to recognize the importance of separating elements of the flag. Their failure to do so produced flags in which the red of the bottom stripe blended uninterrupted into the red of the battle flag in the canton. (An example of this error may be illustrated in the animated state flag that flies at the top of this page.) In fact, the wording of the bill which created the 1894 flag - that the Mississippi Supreme Court says was never properly enacted - clearly states that the canton (ie: the battle flag) was to be bordered with white, thus separating it from the colors of the stripes. Some flagmakers obeyed this law. The great majority of them did not. As the colors of this proposed flag would also blend uninterrupted without the proper canton border, it is incorporated here. We can only hope that modern flagmakers will take note of this important flag element should it ever be accepted.