![]() Adams and fellow activists from Black Lives Matter (BLM) Mississippi – Taylor Turnage, Timothy Young and Calvert White – had decided it was their turn to carry the work forward in the wake of George Floyd’s violent death at the hands of Minneapolis police in May. Its success would bring historic change that had long eluded civil rights activists.įor decades, Black people in Mississippi had been trying to persuade state leaders to furl the state flag once and for all. ![]() Drones circled overhead, and supporters held signs, one reading “Racism is a Virus.” The demonstration would be called one of the largest in Mississippi’s history. Scores of people lined the street, eager to hear Adams speak as they marched elbow to elbow in solidarity for Black lives. ![]() Material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.On the day of the demonstration, Jarrius Adams stood in front of the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, where the state flag bearing an image of the “rebel flag” of the Confederacy flew to his left. “I emphasized that it is time for a renewed, respectful debate on this issue.”Ĭopyright Associated Press. “The letter said, in part, that our flag should be unifying, not a symbol that divides us,” Keenum said. Keenum said he wrote to state elected officials June 12 telling them that the university’s students, faculty and administrators have been on record in favor of changing the flag since 2015. Keenum said in a statement that he respects Sankey’s position. “We support the SEC’s position for changing the Mississippi state flag to an image that is more welcoming and inclusive for all people.” “Mississippi needs a flag that represents the qualities about our state that unite us, not those that still divide us,” Ole Miss Chancellor Glenn Boyce and athletic director Keith Carter said in a joint statement. Leaders at both universities said Thursday that the state should change the flag. The state has two SEC schools - the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University. People who voted in a 2001 election chose to keep the flag rather that replace it with a design that did not include the Confederate emblem.Īll of Mississippi’s public universities and several cities and counties have stopped flying the state flag in recent years because of the emblem. Tate Reeves has said repeatedly that if the banner is to be redesigned, it should be done by the state’s voters. White supremacists put the symbol on the flag in 1894 during the backlash to black political power that developed during Reconstruction.ĭuring a Black Lives Matter protest June 5 outside the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion in downtown Jackson, thousands of people cheered as an 18-year-old organizer, Maisie Brown, called for the removal of all Confederate symbols in the state, including from the flag.īipartisan coalitions of state lawmakers have been trying to build momentum to change the flag, but Republican Gov. Mississippi has the last state flag that includes the battle emblem: a red field topped by a blue X with 13 white stars. National protests about racial injustice have renewed debate about Confederate symbols. The NCAA has already said it would not schedule postseason events in Mississippi because of the state flag. In the event there is no change, there will be consideration of precluding Southeastern Conference championship events from being conducted in the State of Mississippi until the flag is changed.” “Our students deserve an opportunity to learn and compete in environments that are inclusive and welcoming to all. ![]() “It is past time for change to be made to the flag of the State of Mississippi,” Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement Thursday. (AP) - The Southeastern Conference is considering barring league championship events in Mississippi unless the state changes its Confederate-based flag.
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