Commission to Redesign the Mississippi State Flag

On Monday, January 11, Governor Tate Reeves signed the bill ratifying the newly adopted state flag at the Two Mississippi Museums. Afterwards, Governor Reeves joined Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann and House Speaker Philip Gunn to lead a flag-raising ceremony on the grounds of the Mississippi State Capitol. 

Legislators retired the 1894 flag last summer and created the Commission to Redesign the Mississippi State Flag to select a new banner to represent the state. The commission solicited ideas from the public, held open meetings at the Two Mississippi Museums, and conducted polls before selecting a design to place on the ballot for voters. Mississippians voted overwhelmingly to approve the flag on November 3, 2020. 

The bill creating the commission also instructed lawmakers to enact the proposed flag into law if voters approved the design. The first action of the state legislature during the 2021 session was passage of House Bill No. 1, which enacts the new design into law. 

To mark the occasion, Lieutenant Governor Hosemann said, “From our world-famous authors to the unmatched beauty of our natural resources, Mississippi has always been a place with limitless potential. In ratifying the peoples vote and in raising this new banner, we are signaling to the rest of the world we are ready to realize this potential, we are open for business, and we are living up to our welcoming reputation of hospitality. Today, we take a great step toward making Mississippi an even better place for our children and grandchildren, and for this I could not be any more proud.” 

Philip Gunn, Speaker of the House, shared this: “As I talked to people who voted for changing the flag, one question motivated them: ‘Will I be able to look my children and grandchildren in the eyes and be proud of my vote?’ Mississippians answered them loud and clear, once and for all. With an astounding majority we as a state were united in showing the world that we choose to stand on the right side of history. This new flag boldly declares our trust in God, as a state. As we enter into a new year, a new session, may God bless our efforts, and may God bless the state of Mississippi as we set sail under this new flag.” 

Learn more about the process of creating the new state flag here. For more information email info@mdah.ms.gov.

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.

On Tuesday, August 25, members of the Commission to Redesign the Mississippi State Flag met and chose two flags designs to advance. Images of “The Great River Flag” and “The New Magnolia Flag” have been placed on the MDAH website, alongside a new nonbinding public poll: www.mdah.ms.gov/flagpoll-top2.

Before convening for discussion, commission members gathered at the Old Capitol Museum and viewed each of the five flag finalists, which had been manufactured and were raised on the flagpole. Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann and several state legislators were present.

Commission chair Reuben Anderson presided at the meeting, which took place at the Two Mississippi Museums. Anderson was joined by Cyrus Ben, Sherri Carr Bevis, Frank Bordeaux, Mary Graham, Betsey Hamilton, Robyn Tannehill, T.J. Taylor, and J. Mack Varner.

Information about the flag designs and a comment section are included with the public poll. The comment period and poll and will expire at noon on September 1.

The commission will choose the final design during its September 2 meeting and report its selection to the governor and legislature.

The minutes of the August 18 meeting are posted here. For more information email info@mdah.ms.gov.

The Commission to Redesign the Mississippi State Flag selected five flags to move to the final round (pending clearance of intellectual property rights). The five designs and a new nonbinding public poll have been placed on the MDAH website at www.mdah.ms.gov/flagpoll-top5.  

The five designs will be manufactured into flags, and at the August 25 meeting, commissioners will meet in front of the Old Capitol Museum where each flag will be raised on the flag pole.

The commission will choose the final design during their September 2 meeting and report that selection to the governor and legislature. 

For more information email info@mdah.ms.gov.

On August 14, the Commission to Redesign the Mississippi State Flag selected nine designs to advance to the next round (pending clearance of intellectual property rights).

In attendance were Reuben Anderson, Cyrus Ben, Sherri Carr Bevis, Frank Bordeaux, Mary Graham, Betsey Hamilton, Robyn Tannehill, and J. Mack Varner. T. J. Taylor joined the meeting via Zoom. The meeting was held at the Two Mississippi Museums.

The nine flags and a nonbinding public poll have been placed on the MDAH website: https://www.mdah.ms.gov/flagpoll. A public comment period will begin on August 25. The poll and comments section will close at noon on September 1.

The commission will meet again on August 18 (8 a.m.), August 25 (10:30 a.m.), and September 2 (10:30 a.m.). The commission will select a design to submit to the governor and the legislature at the September 2 meeting.

The minutes for the July 28 meeting are available here. Watch the August 14 meeting on the MDAH Facebook page. For more information email info@mdah.ms.gov.

The Commission to Redesign the Mississippi State Flag met on Tuesday, July 28, at the Two Mississippi Museums—the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. Present were Reuben Anderson, Cyrus Ben, Sherri Carr Bevis, Frank Bordeaux, Betsey Hamilton, T.J. Taylor, and J. Mack Varner. Mary Graham and Robyn Tannehill joined the meeting via Zoom.

After Reuben Anderson called the meeting to order, the commission unanimously approved a plan for reviewing the hundreds of flag submissions and selecting a flag for the ballot by September 2. Only flags submitted by August 1 that meet the legislative criteria will be considered.

The flag submissions will be placed on the Mississippi Department of Archives and History’s website for public view on August 3. The commissioners will each choose twenty-five flags by August 7, narrowing more than a thousand entries to a maximum of 225. Commission members will then rank their top ten choices.

During the next meeting on August 14, the commissioners will select five flags for final consideration. These five flags will be placed on the MDAH website for public comment.

After expert Clay Moss presented about the principles of flag design, the commissioners voted to meet again on August 25 and September 2. The commission will select the final flag to submit to the governor and the Legislature at the September 2 meeting.

Each of the upcoming meetings will stream live on MDAH Facebook page. Watch the July 28 meeting here. The minutes from the July 22 are located here. For more information email info@mdah.ms.gov.