Will it be the shield or the magnolia? A nine-member commission in charge of opting for a design for the new Mississippi State flag narrowed the box to two features Tuesday after watching five finalist models fly out of the Old Capitol in Jackson.
A finalist wears a red stripe and waves. The other has a magnolia flower surrounded by a circle of stars, covered with red stripes. Both include the words “In God we trust”.
The final designs were decided from approximately 3,000 submissions submitted to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History for review. Earlier this summer, lawmakers voted to remove the old Mississippi flag, which featured the emblem of the Confederate battle, a symbol related to white supremacy.
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The Mississippi State Flag Redesign Commission will meet on September 2 to discuss the winner. The public will vote if they settle for the final design as the new Mississippi state flag in November.
The commission has steadily reduced the number of design options. On August 18, they decided on five finalists, who were hoisted on a flagpole and flew outside the Old Capitol on Tuesday.
Subsequently, committee members met to discuss the merits and disadvantages of the option.
President Reuben Anderson said waving flags is a “great idea.”
“When you execute a flag on a flagpole, it’s another flag that’s on paper,” he said.
The commissioners searched for all models of the magnolia flag, which they said were involved in splitting the vote into a non-binding online ballot used to assess public preferences. Votes can be cast in mdah.ms.gov/flagballotArray. The commission does not have to choose the design that gets the most votes online.
They voted for the punch of a drawing with a magnolia on a blue background and another with a magnolia flower and component of the Mississippi border. A third option rejected because it is almost equal to the magnolia flag selected to appear on the last two models.
The design of the remaining magnolia flag will be changed following the recommendations of Clay Moss, a flag expert. Moss recommended expanding the red stripes and the yellow border. The modified design will be published in its entirety before the next assembly of the commission.
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The Mississippi Department of Archives and History the following descriptions of the flag drawings.
Follow Alissa Zhu on Twitter: @AlissaZhu
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