State Flag Commission Picks New Magnolia Flag for November Ballot
Commission Votes to Officially Name the Flag “In God We Trust”
JACKSON, MS—The Commission to Redesign the Mississippi State Flag met at the Two Mississippi Museums and selected the “New Magnolia Flag” to become the new state flag. The commissioners submitted the design to the governor and the legislature as instructed in House Bill 1796, which established the commission. Mississippians will vote whether to approve the flag design on November 3.
The commission voted to brand the flag the “In God We Trust” flag.
The flag was designed by Rocky Vaughan, with design support provided by Sue Anna Joe, Kara Giles, Dominique Pugh, Clay Moss, and Micah Whitson. The design features a white magnolia on a blue banner with red and gold bars on each end. The magnolia is encircled by twenty five-point stars, plus a star representing indigenous Native Americans, and the words “In God We Trust.”
“Our flag should reflect the beauty and good in all of us. It should represent a state that deserves a positive image,” said Vaughan. “The New Magnolia Flag represents the warmth and strength of the good people of Mississippi. Now is the time we show the world that we’re from Mississippi, the Magnolia State.”
Tribal Chief Cyrus Ben, Sherri Carr Bevis, Frank Bordeaux, Mary Graham, Betsey Hamilton, Robyn Tannehill, T.J. Taylor, and J. Mack Varner served on the commission. Judge Reuben Anderson chaired the commission.
“No one worked harder to change Mississippi’s flag than Governor William Winter,” said Anderson, who is also president of the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH). “I am thinking of him today as Mississippi takes this historic step toward selecting a state flag that will unify us and make us proud. I am grateful to our state leadership and my colleagues on the commission for their commitment to moving Mississippi forward.”
“MDAH was proud to support the Flag Commission in its historic work,” said MDAH director Katie Blount. “We were especially gratified to see the public engage so significantly in the process. The commissioners worked hard, listening to the experts and to the people, and they came up with a great design to present to voters on November 3.”
On July 1, 2020, Mississippi retired the state’s 1894 flag—the last state flag in the nation to incorporate the Confederate battle flag. The legislature directed that the new design must not include contain that flag but must include the words “In God We Trust.”
All of the meetings were broadcast live on the MDAH Facebook page and placed on the MDAH YouTube Channel afterwards.
Media Availability:
The Honorable Reuben Anderson, chairman of the Commission to Redesign the Mississippi State Flag and president of the Mississippi Department of Archives & History Board of Trustees. Judge Anderson was the first African American to serve on the Mississippi Supreme Court.
Katie Blount, Director, Mississippi Department of Archives and History
For More information or to schedule interviews contact:
Michael Morris, MDAH Director of Public Relations. mmorris@mdah.ms.gov or 601-576-6822
Holly Lange, Lange Management, holly@langemanagement.com, or 601-906-8698
Use of Flag Design:
The intellectual rights to the In God We Trust flag design have been cleared. The design is owned by the state of Mississippi and can be freely used by members of the public. There are no costs associated with using the design. Download the flag design HERE. The image is courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
