Gov. Phil Bryant says state universities that removed Mississippi’s Confederate-themed flag are teaching disrespect for state law by taking it down.
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“Delta State continues to fly the state flag out of respect to our relationship with the state of MS, and despite our disagreement with symbols that cause an unfortunate barrier to understanding”, Farish said.
The governor reiterated his position that voters should get another chance to decide whether MS changes its flag.
“It’s a quite natural thing that the respective colleges on campus would want to emulate the display of the American flag on the Drill Field with their college and that’s what transpired”, Keenum asserted in a statement announcing the decision. The law doesn’t require public agencies to fly the flag. “When I arrived at Mississippi State (in 2009), we had several (state) flags flying on campus that are still there today”.
Mississippi State University recently joined six other universities in the Magnolia State by removing the state flag, which contains the controversial Confederate battle emblem. Mississippi University for Women President Jim Borsig did not respond to a request for comment.
“Dr. Keenum has said repeatedly that the issue related to whether MS should change its state flag is not going to be resolved on our campus”, Salter said.
Borsig says he was willing to make the move after campus groups had sustained discussions in the last school year. He also cites the 50th anniversary of the university’s integration as a factor.
Back in April, several students staged a sit-in outside Lee Hall on the campus of MSU demanding that university officials take the flag down. The university community was united in asking state elected officials to adopt a state flag that unites all Mississippians.
Mississippi State University and the Mississippi University for Women confirmed Tuesday that they had taken down the state’s flag from outdoor flagpoles over the summer.
In contrast to Morris Stocks, then interim chancellor of the University of Mississippi and president the University of Southern Mississippi, who ordered the state flag to removed from their campuses last fall, Keenum did not issue a directive ordering the flags to be removed, The Reflector, MSU’s student newspaper reported. Salter said the flags have been replaced with larger American flags, to mirror the large American flag that has flown alone in MSU’s central quad for at least 15 years.
Since 1894, the MS flag has had the Confederate battle emblem in its upper left corner – a blue X with 13 white stars, over a field of red.
Salter said Tuesday that Keenum “has been outspoken in expressing his heartfelt personal support for flag change and has maintained an open dialogue with those representing diverse points of view on the question of the state flag”. “The Mississippi State flag is still part of that display”.
This past academic year, the Faculty Senate voted for a change in the state flag, which the Student Association also supported.
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A majority of students wanted the flag to come down, but not everyone supported the decision, she said.
