JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The next Mississippi state flag could have a magnolia instead of the Confederate battle emblem.
It’s been nearly two months since legislators acted under pressure to retire the old flag with the rebel symbol that’s widely seen as racist.
A flag commission voted Wednesday to recommend a design with the state flower. That design will go on the November ballot.
If a majority of voters say yes, it will become the new state flag. If they say no, the design process will start again — and Mississippi will remain a state without a flag for a while longer.
By law, the new flag must include the phrase, “In God We Trust” and it cannot include depictions of the Confederate battle flag.
