In 2001, voters in Mississippi decisively rejected changing the state flag. (William Colgin/Getty Images)
When white supremacist Dylann Roof shot nine Black churchgoers in Charleston, S.C., he hoped it would inspire a race war. But his terrorist act had the opposite effect. Some Southerners were so reviled by the church massacre, they turned on the Confederate flag, which Roof proudly displayed on his car and in online pictures. This summer, lawmakers across the South voted to remove the rebel flag from state buildings. The latest organization to remove the flag is the University of Mississippi.
NPR reported students and faculty voted to remove the Mississippi state flag from the Oxford campus. The flag, which was taken down on Monday, contains the Confederate symbol in the upper left corner. The state flag is controversial within Mississippi. According to NPR, several cities, counties and three historically Black colleges refuse to fly it.
The University of Mississippi is steeped in symbols of the Old South. It’s nickname, Ole Miss, is a phrase enslaved people used to refer to the plantation owner’s wife. It’s mascot used to be a bearded plantation owner and until 2009, the school band played Dixie at football games.
Interim Chancellor Morris Stocks said removing the flag was a difficult, but necessary decision.
“As Mississippi’s flagship university, we have a deep love and respect for our state,” said Stocks in a statement. “Because the flag remains Mississippi’s official banner, this was a hard decision. I understand the flag represents tradition and honor to some. But to others, the flag means that some members of the Ole Miss family are not welcomed or valued.”
While South Carolina, the site of the terrorist attack, voted to remove the flag from state grounds, Mississippi is still stubbornly hanging on to it’s stage flag. According to NPR, voters rejected changing the flag in a 2001 referendum. Legislators have avoided touching the issue in the run up to the Nov. 3 election.
Some politicians criticized the university’s decision. Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant accused students of reacting emotionally. State Sen. Chris McDaniel said Mississippi voters had already taken a decision on the state flag.
“So, the Ole Miss student association, filled with the passion and poison of a liberal administration, passes a resolution to remove state flag from campus and to ask the state legislature to change it?” said McDaniel in a Facebook post. “No, I don’t think so. The people have already spoken.”
