The Mississippi Flag Commission met Friday to narrow down the designs for a new state flag. Over 3,000 designs were submitted for consideration, and the Commission whittled it down to 147 earlier this week.
Commissioners revealed the top 11 choices today, putting off the vote for the top 5 until next week and amending their own timeline while maintaining the requirement of having the top choice decided on by September to allow it to be on the November ballot.
The Great River Flag generated over 700 emails of support, more than any other design, MDAH told Commissioners. Yet, the design was compared in the meeting to the Union-Pacific Railroad logo or K-Swiss shoes.
There was also much input of having a magnolia on the flag from the public. Objections to a magnolia were voiced about its symbolism of the “Old South.
The Mississippi River was another element mentioned as a necessary part of a new state flag. The hesitation from some, however, was that at least one option showing the state’s outline and the river also showed Louisiana.
Commissioners amended or offered redesign tweaks to a few of their top choices, including the option of adding green to a flag. MDAH will share the top choices, with some being removed or changed, soon after the meeting for public viewing.
Of note, the Stennis or Hospitality Flag was highly touted as a viable option prior to the debate of changing the state flag. That design was submitted in the first round, but the original designer asked the Commissioner to remove it from consideration in the second round.
You can watch the full deliberations by the Flag Commission here:
Frank Corder
