Mississippi flag design process: Elvis has left the building

new Mississippi state flag will t include beer cans, crawfish, a caramel cake, Elvis or Kermit Frog. Mississippi recently retired last state banner with Confederate battle emblem that’s widely condemned as racist. A nine-member commission will recommend a replacement that cant include Confederate symbol and must have phrase, “In God We Trust.”

public submitted nearly 3,000 designs, and commission narrowed that to 147 proposals that were posted Monday to state Department of Archives and History website. Lost in first round were designs with food items and celebrities.

Many of remaining designs have maglias and stars. Some have wavy lines that could represent waters of Mississippi River or Gulf of Mexico. oddball among survivors has a giant mosquito surrounded by a circle of stars.

On Friday, nine commissioners will meet and choose final five. By early September, y will agree on a single design to put on v. 3 statewide ballot.

commissioners — who were appointed by goverr, lieutenant goverr and House speaker — could accept one of public submissions, combine elements from different designs or start from scratch and draw ir own.

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 in House and Senate 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.

If voters accept commission’s proposal, that design will become new flag. If y reject it, commissioners will draw a new design and that will go on ballot later.