海角大神

Mississippi divided: Battle over Confederate flag shifts to Magnolia State

With the Confederate flag gone from the South Carolina State House grounds, some residents of Mississippi are confronting their state flag, the only US flag to incorporate the Southern cross.

The Confederate battle flag may have lost its place at the South Carolina State House grounds, but the fight to keep it flying appears far from over.

From Florida to Maryland and across the Deep South, the debate around what the banner represents 鈥� a discussion fired by a racially charged massacre in Charleston in June 鈥� has divided Americans: Some see the flag as a vital part of the country鈥檚 history, while others have decried the symbol as a relic of the Civil War and the South鈥檚 racist past.

The split is especially stark in Mississippi, the heart of the Deep South and whose state flag is the only one that incorporates the 鈥渞ebel X鈥� Confederate insignia 鈥� Georgia changed it's flag to eliminate the Southern Cross in 2001. In a telling snapshot, the city of Hattiesburg, located in the southern part of the state, has removed all state flags from city buildings. Less than three miles away, the town of Petal has done the exact opposite and voted to fly the state flag at all of its city buildings.

The divide is reflected in Mississippi鈥檚 government as well. The state鈥檚 Republican governor, Phil Bryant, has refused to call a special legislative session to address the issue, resisting calls to do so from leading state officials, Reuters reported.

Yet shortly after the South Carolina shooting, Philip Gunn, the Republican speaker of the state House, called for the Confederate emblem鈥檚 removal from the state flag, as the Monitor previously reported.

鈥淲e must always remember our past, but that does not mean we must let it define us,鈥� Speaker Gunn . 鈥淎s a 海角大神, I believe our state鈥檚 flag has become a point of offense that needs to be removed. We need to begin having conversations about changing Mississippi鈥檚 flag.鈥�

Republican national committeeman Henry Barbour, who is from Mississippi, voiced his agreement.

鈥淗ow can we keep things the same?鈥� he after Gunn issued his statement. 鈥淭he flag didn't cause Charleston, but it represents hatred to many, especially our black brothers and sisters.鈥�

Advocates of the flag in Mississippi point to the state鈥檚 2001 referendum, when residents overwhelmingly voted to keep the current state flag鈥檚 design, and argue that symbols don鈥檛 cause people to do evil things.

鈥淭he flag was no more the 鈥榮ource鈥� of horrible acts against mankind than a gun is the 鈥榮ource鈥� of someone鈥檚 death,鈥� Mississippi state Sen. Melanie Sojourner on her Facebook page. 鈥淭he 鈥榮ource鈥� is the hatred and evil that resides in the hearts of some who live and have lived among us.... Simply placing the blame on something that some see as a symbol only perpetuates the problem.鈥�

Elsewhere, the debate rages on. In South Carolina, legislators spent 13 hours discussing what to do about the flag before finally deciding early Thursday to remove it from the capitol grounds, where it had flown for half a century. Alabama and other municipalities have taken similar steps following the June 17 massacre.

But the flag鈥檚 supporters continue to push back. In Ocala, Fla., an eight-mile convoy of pickups, motorcycles, and cars wound through the town Sunday in a show of support for the banner that locals dubbed the 鈥淔lorida Southern Pride Ride.鈥� Police estimated that more than 1,500 vehicles and 4,500 people, insisting the flag is an honorable symbol of regional pride and a mark of respect for Southern soldiers who died in the American Civil War, were present for the march.

鈥淎 backlash is beginning,鈥� Ben Jones, a spokesman for the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which represents 30,000 descendants of Confederate soldiers, told Reuters. 鈥淲e are putting flags out. Everyone time one is taken down, we put five or six of them up.鈥�

This report contains material from Reuters.聽