Efforts to force a vote on the fate of Mississippi’s controversial state flag appear to be failing, and that’s a good thing.
The flag should be changed to remove the Confederate battle emblem, which is revered by many in Mississippi and viewed as a symbol of hate by others. Probably, in time, it will be changed. But a statewide referendum isn’t the best way to deal with the issue.
Regardless of how one personally feels about the state flag, it is divisive and not one that Mississippians of all races are willing to display with pride. Already, a number of cities and counties, including Greenwood and Leflore County, and seven out of eight state universities are declining to fly it.
A referendum on the flag would only increase the furor and could result in a vote to keep the Confederate emblem, just as the voters overwhelmingly did in 2001 when the issue was put on the ballot.
So it’s just as well for supporters of changing the flag that Initiative 55, “The Flag For All Mississippians Act,” didn’t get enough signatures by last Friday’s deadline to place it on the ballot.
Likewise, a counter-initiative drive designed to enshrine the current flag in the state constitution appears to be lacking enough signatures to get on the ballot. The deadline on that one, Initiative 58, is Nov. 5, and The Associated Press quotes a sponsor as thinking the effort will fall short. Let’s hope so.
This matter can and should be dealt with by the Legislature. Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be the will there right now to change the flag, despite House Speaker Philip Gunn calling for a change last year. Gunn said his Christian faith led him to see the Confederate battle emblem as “a point of offense that needs to be removed,” but then he didn’t do much to advance that call during the 2016 legislative session.
In time, a majority in the Legislature may acquire the backbone and moral conscience to change the flag because it’s a divisive distraction and because it will hurt Mississippi’s image as long as it remains an official symbol of the state.
Meanwhile, we don’t need a contentious election on the issue.
