Mississippi flag could have Choctaw-inspired diamond shape

new Mississippi flag could include a maglia or stars or representations of rivers. Or it could reflect state's Native American herit with a diamond shape that is important to Choctaw community.

A group that will recommend a new flag met Friday and narrowed field of proposed designs submitted by public. Commissioners intended to select final five, but gave mselves a bit more time. y chose nine designs, and will whittle that to five on Tuesday.

Mississippi recently retired last state banner with Confederate battle emblem that’s widely condemned as racist. nine-member commission will recommend a replacement that cant include Confederate symbol and must have phrase, “In God We Trust.”

Seven of nine final designs are red, white and blue. Two are mostly green and white.

Cyrus Ben, chief of Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, serves on flag commission and said diamond shape is frequently used in Choctaw baskets and be work.

“ eastern diamondback rattlesnake is ... a respected animal that also protected crops in fields,” Ben said. “So, that's where you see that diamond design.”

public submitted nearly 3,000 flag designs , and commissioners narrowed that to about 150 proposals that were posted Monday to state Department of Archives and History website.

Commissioners are working with a graphic artist to tweak some of submitted designs. By early September, y will agree on a single proposal to put on v. 3 statewide ballot. If voters accept it, that design will become new flag. If y reject it, commissioners will find a new design to go on ballot later.

Mississippi h used same Confederate-med flag since 1894, when white supremacists in Legislature set design amid backlash to political power that African Americans gained during Reconstruction. People who voted in a 2001 election chose to keep flag, but symbol remained divisive in a state with a 38% Black population.

All eight of Mississippi’s public universities and a growing number of cities and counties stopped flying state flag in recent years. For deces, Mississippi legislative leers said y couldn’t find consensus to change banner. Republican Tate Reeves was elected goverr in 2019 after saying that if flag were to be reconsidered, it should only be done in ar election.

Momentum shifted in early June, after May 25 killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. Black man’s death sparked global protests against racial injustice and reinvigorated debates about Confederate symbols. Within weeks, leers from business, religion and education were lobbying Mississippi legislators to ditch flag and replace it with a more inclusive design.

Two college sports organizations leverd ir power. Souastern Conference said it might bar league championships in Mississippi unless state changed flag. NCAA said that because of Confederate symbol on flag, Mississippi could t host events determined by teams’ performances, which would affect sports such as baseball, women’s basketball and softball.

Reeves agreed to sign bill to retire old flag after it became clear that legislators h two-thirds majority y would need to override a veto.