‘Flag for All Mississippians’ Coalition Lauds Ole Miss Chancellor for Removing Confederate Symbol from Campus
Move Follows Passage Last week of Student Senate Resolution Seeking
Flag’s Removal from Campus
JACKSON, Miss.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today the ‘Flag for All Mississippians’ Coalition applauded Morris
Stocks, interim chancellor for the University of Mississippi, who,
ordered the state flag—which includes the Confederate battle
emblem—lowered earlier today. According to the Clarion
Ledger, Stocks said the flag, “…was being sent to the
university’s archives.” Last Tuesday, the University of Mississippi
Student Senate passed a resolution asking the university to stop flying
the Mississippi state flag.
“We applaud Chancellor Morris Stocks for his decisive and timely action
on the resolution passed by Ole Miss student senate last week to stop
the university from flying the state flag over its campus,” said Sharon
Brown of the Flag for All Mississippians Coalition. “Chancellor
Stocks is to be lauded for standing with, and honoring the courageous
position taken by students as a means to denounce a Confederate symbol
that stands for racial hatred and division. We are encouraged by the
actions of Chancellor Stocks and these students on the Ole Miss campus
and their desire to foster an atmosphere where students of all
ethnicities and backgrounds feel welcome to learn and grow. The actions
at Ole Miss serve as proof that the desire for a state flag that
represents all Mississippians is shared by residents young and
old.”
The Flag for All Mississippians Coalition, representing a diverse group
of Mississippians, is sponsoring the Flag for All Mississippians Act
(Initiative Measure #55) that will amend the Mississippi State
Constitution and provide that: “The flag of the State of Mississippi
shall not contain or include any reference to the Confederate army’s
battle flag or to the Confederacy.” On Sunday, October 11th,
the Committee sponsored a march attended by over 200 civil rights
advocates through downtown Jackson that ended with a rally on the State
Capitol Building steps that featured speeches by civil rights legend Myrlie
Evers-Williams, musician and activist David Banner, civil
rights lawyer Chokwe Lumumba Jr., and South Carolina State
Representative Jenny Horne.
The ballot title for Initiative Measure #55:
“Should the Confederate battle flag or any reference to the Confederacy
be removed from the State Flag?”
The ballot summary for Initiative Measure #55:
Initiative Measure No. 55 proposes to add the following language to the
Mississippi Constitution: “The flag of the State of Mississippi shall
not contain or include any reference to the Confederate army’s battle
flag or to the Confederacy.” As an enforcement mechanism, a Mississippi
citizen may petition the Mississippi Supreme Court for a writ of
mandamus requiring the State, its political subdivisions, their agents,
officers, or employees to comply with the amendment.
Contacts
Flag for All Mississippians Coalition
Sharon Brown, 601-812-4512
Sharon@newmsflag.org
or
Christopher
Johnson, 310-880-9913
Christopher@newmsflag.org
