84-408: The North American Vexillological Association ( NAVA ) is a membership organization devoted to vexillology , the study of flags . It was founded in 1967 by American vexillologist Whitney Smith , and others. Its membership of 1,100+ comprises flag scholars, enthusiasts, designers, collectors, conservators, educators, merchants, manufacturers, historians, and hobbyists from most states and provinces of
168-508: A magnolia tree in the centre, a blue field in the upper left hand corner with a white star in the centre, ... with a red border and a red fringe at the extremity of the Flag". The Magnolia Flag was declared to be " null and void " by a state constitutional convention in 1865 and the state was left without an official flag until the second one was adopted in 1894. The second flag, designed by Edward N. Scudder and adopted in 1894, consisted of
252-677: A new state flag in 2003, the Mississippi flag remained the only U.S. state flag to include the Confederate battle flag's saltire . In 2001 a survey conducted by the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) placed Mississippi's flag 22nd in design quality of the 72 Canadian provincial, U.S. state, and U.S. territorial flags ranked. In the wake of the 2015 Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting , in which nine black parishioners of
336-485: A referendum to be held concurrently with the general election on November 3, 2020. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History invited the public to submit designs for a new state flag on July 13. In accordance with the rules imposed by House Bill 1796, designs would only be accepted if they contained the words "In God We Trust" and not include the Confederate battle flag. The commission also added that suggestions would need to be unique and adhere to principles of
420-616: A triband of three equal horizontal stripes of blue, white, and red, with a canton of the Confederate battle flag . The thirteen stars on the state flag officially represented "the number of the original states of the Union ", although they are sometimes thought to be for the states that seceded from the Union plus Missouri and Kentucky, which had both Confederate and Union governing bodies. From 1894 to 1956, and again from 2003 to 2020, this
504-649: A Coat of Arms and Flag for the State of Mississippi." On February 7, 1894, the Legislature replaced the Civil War era Magnolia Flag with a new one designed by Edward N. Scudder that incorporated the Confederate battle flag in its canton . This second state flag consisted of three equal horizontal triband of blue, white, and red, with the canton of the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia . The 13 stars on
588-445: A baseball regional, men's tennis tournament games and women's basketball tournament games in 2019. Also on June 19, the leaders of the eight public universities in Mississippi ( Alcorn State University , Delta State University , Jackson State University , Mississippi State University , Mississippi University for Women , Mississippi Valley State University , University of Mississippi and University of Southern Mississippi ) issued
672-677: A citizen-led committee reviewed over one hundred designs and allowed residents to vote on the five finalists in an online poll. In addition to Burlington and Norman, more than 300 cities across the U.S. have changed their flag designs since the release of the YouTube video. In 2022, NAVA counted at least 312 cities that had changed their flags since 2015 but speculated that the number was probably much higher. Ted Kaye has consulted numerous artists, citizens, and officials on designing new flags for cities. While all 20 finalists for Utah's flag adhered to NAVA's guidelines, many of them faced criticism from
756-426: A coat of arms and "a suitable flag." The flag recommended by the committee was "A Flag of white ground, a magnolia tree in the center, a blue field in the upper left hand corner with a white star in the center, the Flag to be finished with a red border and a red fringe at the extremity of the Flag." Due to time constraints and the pressure to raise "means for the defense of the state," the delegates neglected to adopt
840-495: A flag should "be distinctive or be related," i.e. it shouldn't be too similar to other flags but can use related symbolism to show connections. The first principle is that a flag should be simple, notably using a child's ability to draw it from memory as a measurement of simplicity. In 2015, NAVA secretary Ted Kaye joined the redesign committee for Fiji to advise the government on a potential redesign of their flag . In 2016, then Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama announced that Fiji
924-820: A flag. When the State Convention at the Capitol in Jackson declared its secession from the United States ("the Union") on January 9, 1861, near the start of the American Civil War , spectators in the balcony handed a Bonnie Blue flag down to the state convention delegates on the convention floor, and one was raised over the state capitol building in Jackson as a sign of independence . Later that night, residents of Jackson paraded through
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#17327647924361008-517: A joint statement calling for a new state flag. On June 22, Conference USA banned all postseason play in Mississippi until the removal of the Confederate emblem from the state flag. Conference USA was home to the state's third largest university, Southern Miss , until moving to the Sun Belt Conference in 2023, and hosted its annual baseball tournament in Mississippi for eight times in nine years from 2011-19. On June 23, presidents of
1092-486: A long blooming season. The New Magnolia is sleek and updated to represent the forward progression of Mississippi. The circle of twenty stars represents Mississippi as the twentieth state of the United States of America and is anchored by the gold five-point star, which stands alone. This star represents our first peoples, the indigenous Native American tribes of the land that would become Mississippi. The color blue in
1176-486: A modified Hospitality flag did not proceed beyond the first round, a similar-looking "Mosquito flag" briefly did, apparently due to a commissioner's typographical error. At an August 14 meeting, the commission announced that they had selected nine finalists. These finalists, depicting various elements including a representation of the Mississippi River , magnolias , and stars composed of diamonds significant to
1260-402: A monochrome background, commonly white or blue. The result of this survey has later motivated flag redesign proposals in states with flags in this category. The survey concluded that New Mexico had the best-designed flag of any U.S. state and the best overall while Quebec scored highest among Canadian provinces and third overall behind New Mexico and Texas . Georgia's state flag at that time
1344-467: A new flag because it did not include the legislature-mandated "In God We Trust" slogan. The flag consists of a single blue star on a white field, an inversion of the white star on a blue field of the Bonnie Blue flag. It is encircled by 19 smaller stars representing each state in the Union when Mississippi joined, as well as symbolizing "unity and continuity" drawing inspiration from the artifacts of
1428-450: A new proposed flag design. On April 17, 2001, a legally binding state referendum to change the flag was put before Mississippi voters by the legislature on recommendation of this commission. The referendum, which asked voters if the new design prepared by the independent commission should be adopted, was defeated in a vote of 64% (488,630 votes) to 36% (267,812), and the 1894 state flag was retained. The proposed flag would have replaced
1512-541: A new state flag no later than September 14, 2020. The bill instructed the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to develop a plan for the removal of the 1894 flag from public buildings across the state and provide administrative support for the commission. The act stipulated that any design proposed by the commission must include the words "In God We Trust" and must not contain the Confederate battle flag. The proposed design would then be subject to
1596-451: A public effort to change the flag of Oregon. Despite a strong public response, the group failed to find a lawmaker to take up the redesign proposal in the state's 2009 legislative session. After discovering NAVA's 2004 survey on city flags, American radio host and podcaster Roman Mars began to cover the topic on his show 99% Invisible in late 2014. In early 2015, his Ted Talk covering NAVA's five principles titled Why city flags may be
1680-548: A quarterly magazine (combining the previous Flag Research Quarterly and NAVA News ). They cover vexillological topics and inter-disciplinary discussion as well as the Association's proceedings and other vexillological news. NAVA also maintains an archive of case studies of their involvement in the redesign process of flags for cities and states across North America. Vexillology Vexillology ( / ˌ v ɛ k s ɪ ˈ l ɒ l ə dʒ i / VEK -sih- LOL -ə-jee )
1764-399: A red field . The topmost star is composed of a pattern of five diamonds, an Indigenous symbol; the other 20 stars are white, as Mississippi was the 20th state to join the Union. The flag was adopted on January 11, 2021. Mississippi has had three official state flags in its history. The first flag, known as the "Magnolia Flag", was adopted in 1861 and consisted of a "Flag of white ground,
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#17327647924361848-648: A result of redistricting after the 2000 U.S. census, Mississippi was reduced to four congressional districts. In an unrelated case involving a medical marijuana initiative that had been certified for the ballot and then approved by Mississippi voters in 2020, the Mississippi Supreme Court overturned the initiative and said that the ballot requirements "cannot work in a world where Mississippi has fewer than five representatives in Congress". Although Let Mississippi Vote continues to collect signatures,
1932-457: A single choice, which was submitted for public vote as a ballot measure on November 3, 2020. Voters approved the new design in a two-choice vote but the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the new proposed design was never approved by voters directly. It is one of three U.S. state flags to feature the words "In God We Trust" (the U.S. national motto), with the other two being those of Florida and Georgia . Before 1861, Mississippi lacked
2016-560: Is a matter of biblical morality." Walmart announced that it would cease displaying the state flag at its 85 Mississippi store locations on June 23, 2020. The retailer normally displays the applicable state flag alongside the U.S. national flag at its locations in the U.S. On June 24, 2020, Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann announced his support for a new flag. Hosemann was joined by Attorney General Lynn Fitch , State Auditor Shad White , Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson and Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney . On June 27, 2020,
2100-826: Is attempting another referendum on a choice of four flag designs: the Magnolia flag that was adopted in the November 2020 referendum, the flag that it replaced, the Stennis version, and the Bicentennial flag. Their stated aim is to give Mississippians a choice instead of voting on only one flag. The group reached their goal of 5000 volunteers and has sent wording for their referendum to the Mississippi Attorney General's Office for approval. They needed 106,190 valid signatures from Mississippi residents for
2184-487: Is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general. A person who studies flags is a vexillologist , one who designs flags is a vexillographer, and the art of designing flags is called vexillography . One who is a hobbyist or general admirer of flags is a vexillophile. The word vexillology is a synthesis of the Latin word vexillum (a kind of square flag which
2268-580: Is vexillology's international umbrella organization. Notable constituent organizations include the North American Vexillological Association , Deutsche Gesellschaft für Flaggenkunde [ de ] (English: 'German Society for Flag Studies'), and Flags of the World (FOTW). All Scottish flags must, by law, be authorised by Lord Lyon for recording in the 'Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland' and he appointed Philip Tibbetts from
2352-546: The Choctaw nation, had either red, white, and blue or green and white color schemes. The commission announced that they would narrow these designs down to five finalists at its next meeting on August 18. Five finalists were published on August 18, and this was reduced to two flags on August 25. The final two flags were the "Great River Flag" designed by Micah Whitson and "The New Magnolia" designed by Rocky Vaughan, Sue Anna Joe, Kara Giles and Dominique Pugh. On September 2,
2436-480: The Confederate States , and the United States ) as well as the six states that precede Mississippi's admission ( Vermont , Kentucky , Tennessee , Ohio , Louisiana , and Indiana ), and the inner and slightly larger star would represent Mississippi itself. The 20 stars would also represent Mississippi's status as the 20th U.S. state and member of the United States of America. When Georgia adopted
2520-532: The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church were killed by Confederacy admirer and white supremacist Dylann Roof , there were renewed calls for Southern states to cease using the Confederate battle flag in official capacities. This extended to increased criticism of Mississippi's state flag. All eight public universities in Mississippi, along with "several cities and counties", including Biloxi , later refused to fly
2604-662: The Mississippi Legislature passed a resolution, House Concurrent Resolution 79, that suspended rules in the legislative chambers in order to debate and vote on a bill to remove and replace the state flag. The motion passed the House on an 85–34 vote and the Senate on a 36–14 vote. At that time, there was no consensus on the method of changing the flag, whether it be retiring the current flag or immediately adopting another. A proposal floated by several members of
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2688-419: The North American Vexillological Association : that the design should use only two or three basic colors, be simple enough for a child to draw, and have meaningful symbolism. More than 2000 submissions meeting the legislative criteria were received and displayed on the Mississippi Department of Archives and History website. Each of the 9 commission members picked 25 flags, narrowing the list down to 147. While
2772-560: The Saudi Arabian navy . In 1969, it became a charter member of the International Federation of Vexillological Associations . In 2001, NAVA published a survey ranking all 72 flags of the states and territories of the United States and all the provinces and territories of Canada . The survey notably resulted in low scores being given to flags that shared an identical design pattern: the state seal superimposed on
2856-464: The United States and Canada for all those interested in flags to present and discuss research, share their passion for flags, and to honor vexillological achievement. Since 1977, it has marked each meeting with a distinctive flag. NAVA honors achievement in the field with several honors and awards: In addition to "Good" Flag, "Bad" Flag and its surveys, NAVA publishes Raven: A Journal of Vexillology, an annual peer-reviewed journal and Vexillum ,
2940-421: The United States and Canada , and more than 30 other countries. In the 21st century, many state and municipal bodies have re-evaluated and introduced measures to change their flags, often influenced and initiated by NAVA's surveys on flag design. Some of their design processes have followed a set of flag design principles compiled by Ted Kaye and published by NAVA. The North American Vexillological Association
3024-408: The fifteen community colleges in Mississippi issued a joint statement showing their support for a new flag. The Mississippi Baptist Convention condemned the former state flag on June 23, 2020. In a statement, Baptist leaders said: "The racial overtones of the flag's appearance make this discussion a moral issue. Since the principal teachings of Scripture are opposed to racism, a stand against such
3108-480: The 1894 flag, leaving the state with no official state flag from 1906 to 2001. In 2000, the Supreme Court of Mississippi confirmed that the state legislature had in 1906 repealed the 1894 adoption of the state flag; the flag used since then and considered official had actually only been customary or traditional. In January 2001, Governor Ronnie Musgrove appointed an independent commission which developed
3192-642: The Confederate emblem from its state flag in 2003. In the House, the bill was passed by 91 in favor and 23 against. In the Senate, the bill was passed with 37 in favor and 14 against. Earlier that weekend, Governor Reeves had stated that he would sign any flag bill passed that weekend by the Legislature into law. Subsequently, after the Legislature passed the bill, a spokesperson for the governor indicated that he would sign, and Reeves did so on June 30, 2020. As
3276-401: The Confederate rebel battle flag with a blue square canton with 20 white stars in a circular row. The outer ring of 13 stars would represent the original Thirteen Colonies , the middle ring of six stars would represent the six nations that have had sovereignty over Mississippi Territory (various Native American nations as a collective nation, French Empire , Spanish Empire , British Empire ,
3360-559: The Legislature passed a bill to repeal the sections of the Mississippi State Code which made provisions for a state flag, mandate the Mississippi Department of Archives and History develop a plan for the removal of the former flag from public buildings within 15 days of the bill's effective date, and establish a commission to design a replacement that would exclude the Confederate battle flag and include
3444-445: The Legislature was to create a new Mississippi flag. This flag, with a yet-to-be-determined design that did not include any Confederate images, would be used alongside the current flag. This plan was soundly rejected by Governor Tate Reeves who said it would not "satisfy either side of this debate" and compared it to the separate but equal doctrine. On June 28, 2020, the Legislature passed a bill, House Bill 1796, that would relinquish
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3528-456: The NAVA principles. In addition to general design criticisms, the flags of Mississippi, Georgia, and Minnesota faced further criticism for racist imagery. Mississippi and Georgia's flags invoked Confederate imagery while Minnesota's depicted a white settler displacing a Native American in a negationist manner. Three other states are in various stages of the redesign process. An effort to change
3612-513: The Stennis flag's design received some form of state sanction by being used in an official capacity. A flag was created by the Mississippi Economic Council to celebrate the state's bicentennial in 2017. This flag consisted of a blue, white and red tricolor with the state seal centered on the white stripe. The flag also had the words "Established 1817" and "Bicentennial 2017" written on the white stripe on either side of
3696-528: The U.S. national motto "In God We Trust". Reeves then signed it into law on June 30, 2020. The third flag was designed by Rocky Vaughan, Sue Anna Joe, Kara Giles, Dominique Pugh, and Micah Whitson. It was chosen by the commission to Redesign the Mississippi State Flag, which was established by the same June 2020 Mississippi House bill which retired the second flag. The commission received thousands of submissions, and narrowed them down to
3780-586: The UK Flag Institute to the newly created role of Honorary Vexillologist to the Court of the Lord Lyon in a rare example of a dedicated state mandated vexillologist. Flag of Mississippi The flag of Mississippi consists of a white magnolia blossom surrounded by 21 stars and the words " In God We Trust " written below, all put over a blue Canadian pale with two vertical gold borders on
3864-481: The bicentennial flag along with the 2001 proposed flag. On June 9, 2020, lawmakers gathered votes and started drafting legislation to change the state flag. This was the first substantial action to change the state flag since the 2001 referendum. The proposed legislation would adopt Laurin Stennis's design as the new flag of Mississippi. With the support of Republican Speaker of the House , Philip Gunn , lawmakers began to court Republican state house members to vote for
3948-485: The commission voted 8–1 to put the New Magnolia flag on the November ballot. Slight modifications were made to the original design, including making the text bolder and the red and gold bars thicker. The flag is officially referred to as the "In God We Trust Flag". Rocky Vaughan is credited with designing the flag's overall layout, with design support provided by Sue Anna Joe, Kara Giles and Dominique Pugh (who created
4032-434: The flag industry and interest from those passionate about flags. The ICV and local vexillological meetings often cover a wide range of interests in flags. Since 1969, an International Congress of Vexillology meeting has been organized every two years under the auspices of FIAV; papers presented at an ICV are published afterwards as the Congress's Proceedings . The International Federation of Vexillological Associations (FIAV)
4116-413: The flag issue". Since its inception, numerous bills were brought before the legislature to have the Stennis flag declared the new state flag, but none of them passed. On April 17, 2019, Mississippi governor Phil Bryant signed a new specialty license plates bill. One of the new specialty plates included the Stennis flag along with the phrase "History + Hope + Hospitality". This was the first time that
4200-524: The flag officially in January but did so when they reassembled in March 1861. The Magnolia Flag was not widely used during the war, as the various Confederate flags were displayed more frequently. Following the war's end , a state constitutional convention nullified many of the ordinances and resolutions passed by the State Convention of 1861. Among those nullified was the ordinance of March 1861 "to provide
4284-737: The flag, along with various coaches from the universities. On June 19, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) banned all post-season play from occurring in Mississippi until the flag was changed. The NCAA had previously banned predetermined events such as football bowl games and men's basketball tournament games in 2001 from occurring in the state. The new rule would have also banned merit-based championship sites, such as baseball regionals, softball regionals, women's basketball tournament games and tennis tournament games. Ole Miss hosted both baseball and softball regionals in 2019. Mississippi State hosted
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#17327647924364368-504: The flag. Manitoba had ranked the lowest of all Canadian provinces on NAVA's 2001 flag survey. The release of "Good" Flag, "Bad" Flag and the surveys of state and city flags in the early 2000s have boosted public awareness about state and municipal flags. This has led to residents in states and cities that are represented by flags that rank poorly with NAVA, or that are otherwise considered to be bad or offensive designs, to launch efforts to redesign them. NAVA has had considerable influence on
4452-438: The following design: with width two-thirds (2/3) of its length; with the union (canton) to be square, in width two-thirds (2/3) of the width of the flag; the ground of the union to be red and a broad blue saltire thereon, bordered with white and emblazoned with thirteen (13) mullets or five-pointed stars, corresponding with the number of the original States of the Union ; the field to be divided into three (3) bars of equal width,
4536-413: The indigenous peoples of the region. The central white field represents "faith and possibility", and is flanked on each side by vertical red bars, representing "the blood spilled by Mississippians, whether civilian or military, who have honorably given their lives in pursuit of liberty and justice for all". In an interview, Stennis said the red bars also stand for "Mississippians' 'passionate differences' on
4620-506: The initiative to be placed on a ballot no earlier than 2023. The number of valid signatures was specified by a 1992 amendment to the Mississippi Constitution when the state had five congressional districts, and written as 12% of the total votes cast for governor in the election preceding the filing of the ballot initiative, with no more than 20% of those signatures coming from a single congressional district. However, as
4704-407: The legislation repealed the sections of the Mississippi State Code which made provisions for a state flag, namely Section 3-3-16, Mississippi ceased once again to have an official state flag at this point. Under the terms of House Bill 1796 (approved by the governor on June 30, 2020), a body known as the commission to Redesign the Mississippi State Flag would be constituted to suggest a design for
4788-428: The legislature in 2015 and 2016, but none made it out of committee. A 2016 federal lawsuit alleging that the flag is tantamount to "state-sanctioned hate speech" was dismissed by both a district court and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals . The US Supreme Court declined to hear the case. An alternative was devised in 2014 by artist Laurin Stennis, granddaughter of former U.S. senator John C. Stennis . Her proposal
4872-626: The magnolia illustration featured in the center). Micah Whitson was also given credit for the appearance of the Native American star. The flag was approved by 73% of the votes cast in a referendum on November 3, 2020. The flag was passed by the Mississippi State House of Representatives on January 5, 2021, and was passed by the State Senate on January 6, 2021. It officially became the state flag after being signed by
4956-466: The main field of the flag echoes the blue of the American flag, representing vigilance, justice, perseverance, while the bands of red represent hardiness and valor. The gold lines and the gold stamen of the New Magnolia are a nod to the rich cultural history of Mississippi, specifically the visual arts, literature, music, and performing arts to originate in our state. Let Mississippi Vote is a group that
5040-417: The public and lawmakers. Utah state representative Andrew Stoddard , for instance, expressed concern that one of the finalists bore too much of a resemblance to the logo of Delta Air Lines . Minnesota's new state flag has also been met with criticism from right-wing commentators, who have said it looks too similar to the national flag of Somalia . Since 1967, the association has held annual meetings across
5124-531: The redesign of flags for cities and states across North America. This impact is evident as numerous design committees have actively incorporated NAVA's guidelines into their submission requirements. In some instances, officials have sought out NAVA members such as Ted Kaye to assist with the redesign process. According to NAVA, at least 312 cities in the United States have changed their designs since 2015. As of 2024, four states have changed their flags while three others are in various stages of redesigning theirs. Since
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#17327647924365208-407: The release of the survey in 2001 and the book in 2006, Mississippi , Georgia , Utah , and Minnesota have changed their designs and replaced their old flags. NAVA's five principles have been cited by citizen activists and by lawmakers for changing these flags. Minnesota state legislator Peter Fischer , who established the committee change his state's flag and seal, cited a TED talk by Roman Mars on
5292-424: The resolution. Gunn ensured that he would get the resolution passed through a House committee if verbal support from 30 Republicans was secured to go along with the 45 Democratic members of the House. An update on June 10 showed that lawmakers believed that they had secured at least 20 Republicans who were in favor of voting for the resolution to change the flag, while 20 more were on the fence. The lawmakers' goal
5376-465: The seal. This flag, without the wording, has been used as an alternative state flag and has been suggested as a possible replacement for it. In late June 2020, former Governor Phil Bryant suggested using the bicentennial flag as a future state flag. Following the retirement of the previous state flag on June 30, 2020, this banner was used in some instances as a de facto placeholder. African American Mississippians from 2017 to 2020 frequently used
5460-465: The state flag of Massachusetts is currently being studied by their state legislature . In 2023, Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker signed a bill to study a replacement for their state flag . Maine held a referendum in 2024 to replace their current flag with a previous design , which failed with only 44.55% in favor of the change. Not all state flag redesign efforts have been successful. In 2009, NAVA worked alongside The Oregonian to launch
5544-476: The state flag officially represented "the number of the original states of the Union"; though they are sometimes thought to have been for states that seceded from the Union, plus Missouri and Kentucky which had Union and Confederate governments. The Mississippi Code of 1972, in Title 3, Chapter 3, described the flag as follows: § 3-3-16. Design of state flag. The official flag of the State of Mississippi shall have
5628-466: The state flag until the emblem was removed. The flag was excluded from state-flag displays in New Jersey , Oregon , and Philadelphia that included the flags of the other 49 states. 2015 proposal for a new flag On September 10, 2015, Steve Earle released the single "Mississippi It's Time" with all proceeds going towards the civil rights organization, Southern Poverty Law Center . The song
5712-412: The state flag, remove the state flag from public buildings within 15 days of the bill's effective date, and constitute a nine-member commission to design a new flag that would be put to voters in a referendum to be held in November 2020. The bill required that the Confederate battle flag not be included on the proposed design, and the motto " In God We Trust " be included, as Georgia did when it removed
5796-409: The state's Governor on January 11, 2021. According to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, The New Magnolia flag is anchored in the center field by a clean and modern Magnolia blossom, a symbol long-used to represent our state and the hospitality of our citizens. The New Magnolia also represents Mississippi's sense of hope and rebirth, as the Magnolia often blooms more than once and has
5880-442: The streets under the banner. Harry McCarthy , an Irish singer and playwright who observed the street parade, was inspired to write the patriotic song " The Bonnie Blue Flag ." The first flag was known as the "Magnolia flag." It was the official state flag from March 30, 1861, until August 22, 1865. On January 26, 1861, the delegates to the state convention approved the report of a special committee that had been appointed to design
5964-433: The two largest universities in Mississippi, Ole Miss and Mississippi State . The announcement by the conference was followed by support of changing the flag from Chancellor Glenn Boyce of The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and President Mark E. Keenum of Mississippi State University. The athletic directors of the universities, Keith Carter (Ole Miss) and John Cohen (Mississippi State), also supported changing
6048-506: The upper one blue, the center one white, and the lower one, extending the whole length of the flag, red ( the national colors ); this being the flag adopted by the Mississippi Legislature in the 1894 Special Session. In 1906, Mississippi adopted a revised legal code that repealed all general laws that were not reenacted by the legislature or brought forward in the new code. The legislature inadvertently omitted mention of
6132-656: The worst designs of all time. In 2022, NAVA published a survey assessing redesigned city flags that 312 cities had introduced since 2015. In this survey, the flag of Tulsa was ranked as the best redesign while the flag of Ranger, Texas was ranked the worst. Pocatello, who changed their flag in 2017, came in as the 11th-best flag among those surveyed. In 2006, NAVA published a general purpose guidebook to effective flag design, "Good" Flag, "Bad" Flag. The book includes five basic principles. These principles recommend that flags avoid using letters or seals, include meaningful symbolism, and employ two or three basic colors. They also say
6216-406: The worst-designed thing you've never noticed went viral, garnering over five million views. Influenced by the video, many cities across the U.S. began to review their flag design. One such person was Miro Weinberger , mayor of Burlington, Vermont , who launched an effort in early 2017 to change the city flag after watching the video. He instructed the city's arts department to replace it within
6300-779: The year. Burlington consulted with NAVA's Ted Kaye to provide expertise, and he was directly involved in the process. Part of the redesign process required those involved to read " Good" Flag, "Bad" Flag and watch the Roman Mars video. A new flag was approved by the city council in November and unveiled in December. Citizens have also started efforts to change city flags. Gabriel Bird, a dentist in Norman, Oklahoma , launched an effort to re-design his city's flag in 2016 after learning about Mars' criticisms of city flags and reading NAVA's five principles. Norman adopted its new flag in 2020 after
6384-495: Was abandoning plans to change the flag after the country won its first ever Olympic gold medal. Celebrations across the country prominently featured the flag and renewed national interest in it. In 2024, the Manitoba chapter of NAVA released a public survey asking for the opinion of Manitobans on their current flag and whether they would support the pursuit of a new provincial flag, signaling the start of an effort by NAVA to change
6468-469: Was carried by Roman cavalry) and the Greek suffix -logia ("study"). American scholar Whitney Smith is acknowledged for conceiving the term "vexillology" in 1957. He wrote "while the use of flags goes back to the earliest days of human civilization, the study of that usage in a serious fashion is so recent that the term for it did not appear in print until 1959." Before this time, the study of flags
6552-591: Was formed in 1967 by Whitney Smith. Smith, a political science student at Harvard University had a passion for flag design at an early age. Prior to NAVA's founding, Smith worked with Guyanese President Cheddi Jagan to design Guyana's new flag in the early 1960s. Since its founding, the association has met annually across the United States and Canada to present and discuss research, share their passion for flags, and to honor vexillological achievement. Smith, in his capacity as president, assisted numerous governments on designing their flags, including Aruba , Bonaire , and
6636-596: Was generally considered a part of heraldry , the study of armorial bearings. Vexillology was formalized by American scholar Smith in 1961 with the publication of The Flag Bulletin . During his lifetime, Smith organized various flag organizations and meetings including the first International Congress of Vexillology (ICV), the North American Vexillological Association , and the International Federation of Vexillological Associations (FIAV). Involvement in vexillology includes academic work in fields such as sociology , history, or design. It also includes contributions from
6720-434: Was originally dubbed the "Declare Mississippi flag" but was popularly called the "Stennis flag" and later renamed the "Hospitality flag". In June 2020, Stennis stepped back from the effort to change the 1894 flag, citing potential harm associated with her last name, which she shares with her grandfather who was a segregationist for much of his career. In August 2020, the copyrighted design was withdrawn from being an option for
6804-668: Was produced by Earle and recorded with his longtime backup band, the Dukes, in the summer of 2015 in the aftermath of the massacre at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in June 2015. The song advocates for removal of the Confederate flag from state grounds and tackles historical themes of slavery, racism, patriotism, and progress since the Civil War. Over 20 flag-related bills, some calling for another statewide referendum, were introduced in
6888-553: Was rated the worst U.S. flag and worst flag overall while Manitoba's was the worst rated Canadian flag. NAVA followed up its 2001 survey of state flags with a survey of city flags in 2004. The flag of Washington, D.C. came in first place while the flag of Pocatello, Idaho was ranked as the worst. American podcaster Roman Mars called the Pocatello flag the worst flag in North America, and it frequently features on lists of
6972-523: Was the only state flag to incorporate the Confederate battle flag into its design, Georgia being the other from 1956 to 2003. In response to the George Floyd protests in 2020, state legislators proposed new flag designs omitting the Confederate flag. On June 27, 2020, Governor Tate Reeves stated that if the Mississippi Legislature passed a bill that weekend addressing the flag issue, he would sign it into law. Subsequently, on June 28, 2020,
7056-542: Was to secure at least 40 Republicans needed to suspend rules to allow a bill to be considered in the session. On June 11, Senate Democrats filed a resolution to change the state flag. On June 18, 2020, the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference , Greg Sankey , announced the SEC would consider banning championship events in Mississippi until the flag was changed. The SEC is the athletic conference for
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