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Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today

The Mississippi state flag flies in downtown Jackson on Thursday, June 25, 2020.

Legislative leaders opted on Thursday to delay a vote to change the state flag, which contains the Confederate battle emblem, but told lawmakers they would continue working through the weekend, which is longer than initially anticipated.

Early this week, lawmakers indicated they planned to adjourn the regular session on Friday, making the issue of the state flag more urgent. But they now plan to meet longer, most likely through the weekend and into next week.

The delay again leaves no answer to the question on everyone’s mind: “When, if at all, will legislators vote to change the state flag?”

Speaker Philip Gunn in the House and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann in the Senate can bring up a bill to change the state flag at their discretion.

Various sources have confirmed to Mississippi Today that both sides are close to having the necessary votes — within “one or two votes” in both chambers, some said, and others indicated leaders had enough votes in the House — though it’s a fluid situation.

On Thursday afternoon, as Hosemann was walking into Gunn’s office to meet about changing the flag, a reporter asked about an assertion made by Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville, that there were at least 20 senators who would definitely not vote to change the flag was correct.

Twenty senators voting against changing the flag would kill the effort.

“Sen. McDaniel has been here longer than I have. He certainly would be a knowledgeable source, but not necessarily accurate,” Hosemann said.

Lawmakers technically have until July 12, according to legislative rules, to take up the issue of the state flag. If they adjourn the session before that, they cannot come back this year for a state flag vote. Additionally, when they adjourn for the year, the only reason they can come back to Jackson — unless called into special session by Gov. Tate Reeves — is to take up COVID-19 issues.

A two-thirds vote of both chambers (82 of 122 House members, 35 of 52 Senate members) is required to suspend the rules to even consider a bill that would change the flag. If the rules are suspended, a simple majority vote of each chamber (62 of 122 House members, 27 of 52 Senate members) is needed to change the flag.

Legislators could come back in the 2021 session and pass a proposal under the normal process to change the state flag with simple majority votes of both of chambers.

While the flag continues to garner much of the attention, legislators continue to work on completing a state budget and on spending about $900 million in federal funds on coronavirus-related expenses, including funds to improve internet access to rural areas.

Other major bills still being considered deal with enacting criminal justice reform, possibly making it easier to vote early in November, removing a provision from the Constitution giving the House the authority to elect statewide officeholders in certain circumstances, and providing a higher level of protection for businesses and health care providers from coronavirus-related lawsuits.

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Ole Miss basketball coach Kermit Davis, center, joins other athletic staff from the state’s public universities calling for a change in the Mississippi state flag. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

One was a middle-aged white man, born and raised in Mississippi. One was a much younger African-American woman, who has lived in Mississippi for only weeks. One, a Mississippi State graduate, represented Ole Miss, the other, a Tennessee alum, represented Mississippi State.

But both Kermit Davis, Jr, the man, and Nikki McCray-Penson, the woman, spoke eloquently and delivered the same message Thursday morning in the Capitol rotunda: Change the Mississippi flag. Now. Let’s move ahead.

Behind the chosen speakers, McCray-Penson and Davis, stood at least 25 coaches and sports administrators representing all the state-supported universities, unanimous in their belief Mississippi needs a new flag to represent all Mississippians.

Rick Cleveland

Football coaches Lane Kiffin of Ole Miss and Mike Leach of Mississippi State, both brand new to the state, stood in the front row behind the podium. At least one observer, this one, imagined Kiffin and Leach must have felt as if they just landed here from another planet, this being 2020 and all this hubbub being about changing a flag that contains the losing battle flag from a war fought more than a century and a half ago. But I digress…

“I know firsthand what it feels like to see a Confederate flag and pretend that it doesn’t have a racist, violent and oppressive overtone. It screams of hate. It hurts me to my core,” McCray-Penson said.

Said Davis, “We’re here to create change. We need a flag that represents all Mississippians. We can all agree on a few things, that we all have great pride in our state, that we all want great business and economic growth in our state, and that we want Ole Miss and our other great universities to attract the very best players from our state as well the best players from all across the country. We can do this by changing the flag now.”

Sports has been front and center in this ongoing Mississippi flag debate, and apparently the pleas of Mississippi’s college coaches and administrators in the past several days have made a difference. On Thursday afternoon, lawmakers told Mississippi Today that they felt they were “one or two votes” short of legislative change in both chambers — an incredible reality given the lack of legislative support the effort had even a week ago.

House Speaker Philip Gunn took the podium after the coaches and spoke loudly and with emotion about the need for changing the flag.

“This entire state is screaming for change,” Gunn said. “This is an issue that needs to be resolved and resolved quickly. The longer it goes, the more it festers and the harder it’s going to be later on. The image of our state is at stake here, ladies and gentleman. The nation is watching.”

Last week, the NCAA, the Southeastern Conference and Conference USA all announced that championship events will be banned from Mississippi as long as the Confederate emblem is part of the flag.

“The rulings by the SEC and NCAA affect us greatly, and we can’t be an elite program without hosting postseason events,” McCray-Penson said. “Our entire student body could potentially be adversely affected by this symbol of hatred. …This symbol of hatred is so much bigger than athletics.”.

Nevertheless, nobody seemed to know whether the legislative votes were there to make the change. Two-thirds majority is needed in both the House and Senate for the change to occur.

“We’re so close,” one legislator said.

“Almost there,” said another.

“I really believe it is going to happen Friday or Saturday,” said still another.

McCray-Penson sounded hopeful.

“As a Black woman coaching at one of the most diverse universities in the country, I look forward to seeing change that unites us and accurately represents our great community,” she said. “Changing the flag is an important step toward inclusivity and an end to racial injustice. This is a moment in our society to reassess values and do the right thing by removing this symbol of hatred.”

Davis closed by talking about a family discussion recently at the dinner table at his house.

“I have a daughter, Ally, she’s 32 years and she has Down’s Syndome,” Davis said. “Ally keeps us simplified and grounded at all times at our house. We were having this discussion, my wife and Ally and I, and we were talking about social injustice and the flag change, and Ally’s sitting there and she looks up and says, ‘Dad, do unto others as you would like them do unto you.’

“I said, boy isn’t that simple and isn’t that perfect – that’s it, a flag change that’s good for everybody in our state.”

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Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For America

Tate Reeves prepares to debate against Bill Waller Jr. during the GOP gubernatorial debate at WJTV studios Wednesday, August 21, 2019.

Gov. Tate Reeves, in the midst of the battle over whether the Legislature will change the Mississippi state flag during the coming days against his wishes, called a meeting Wednesday afternoon attended by five fellow statewide elected officials to discuss the issue.

People familiar with the meeting said Reeves did not attempt to change anyone’s mind, but instead led a general discussion on the flag, the nation’s only state flag to feature the Confederate battle emblem.

One person familiar with the meeting said it appears to have been a meeting “to take the temperature” of the statewide officials and perhaps develop some type of unified front. But by the time of the meeting, held at the Governor’s Mansion, most of the statewide officials had issued a statement on the flag.

At the meeting, Reeves continued to maintain that a vote of the people should be held on whether to change the flag, but he opposed the referendum being this November.

Soon after that meeting, Reeves posted a statement to social media that if the Legislature garnered the two-thirds vote needed in each chamber to change the flag, he would not veto the bill because it would also take a two-thirds vote to override his veto.

“Some legislative leaders have changed their position multiple times in recent days. Right now, they are considering suspending the rules to change the flag. It would take a two-thirds vote. That’s how many it takes to override a veto,” he wrote.

“Make no mistake, a vote to change the rules is a vote to change the flag. If they get those votes, a veto would be pointless. That debate would be over, and the flag would change.”

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who as the Senate’s presiding officer is leading the effort in that chamber to garner the two-thirds majority to change the flag, and Attorney General Lynn Fitch were not at the meeting with Reeves.

On Thursday morning, lawmakers in both the House and the Senate told Mississippi Today they were “within one or two votes” of being able to suspend the legislative rules and change the state flag.

Fitch and Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney were the only two statewide officials at a meeting Hosemann and House Speaker Philip Gunn had earlier this week with religious leaders where the flag was discussed. After that meeting, the influential Mississippi Baptist Convention endorsed changing the flag.

Thus far, Reeves and Secretary of State Michael Watson have not taken a position on whether the flag should be changed. Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson, Auditor Shad White and Fitch have endorsed changing the banner.

Hosemann and Chaney have endorsed the Legislature changing the banner. Treasurer David McRae said he would support a change by the Legislature or by the people.

In 2001, 64 percent of Mississippians voted to maintain the current flag, though, momentum appears to be growing in recent weeks from the business community, sports figures and others to change the controversial banner.

All of Mississippi’s statewide elected officials are Republican.

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Coaches and athletic directors from every public college and university in the state travelled to the Capitol on Thursday morning to deliver a clear message to legislators: It’s time to change the state flag, which features the Confederate battle emblem.

Mississippi State University women’s head basketball coach Nikki McCray-Penson

“I know firsthand what it feels like to see the Confederate flag and pretend it doesn’t have a racist, violent or oppressive overtone. It screams hate,” Nikki McCray-Penson, head women’s basketball coach at Mississippi State University. “There is no place in our society for a symbol of discrimination, hatred and oppression.”

McCray was part of a group of roughly 30 coaches and athletic directors, including University of Mississippi head football coach Lane Kiffin and Mississippi State head football coach Mike Leach, who participated in a press conference to share their beliefs about how the flag is harming the state.

All coaches are now directly affected by state flag, as the NCAA, SEC and Conference USA have all respectively banned all postseason college athletics events from being hosted in Mississippi until the flag changes.

University of Mississippi men’s basketball coach Kermit Davis

“We all agree that we’d love to have a state that has great pride,” said Kermit Davis, men’s basketball coach at the University of Mississippi. “We’d love to have a state that is flourishing economically, business-wise and education(-wise). And for that to happen we all know that the flag needs to change.”

House Speaker Philip Gunn attended the press conference and spoke strongly on behalf of changing the flag, telling the crowd no one can argue the flag isn’t damaging the state as the post-season bans have “now brought a quantifiable hurt” upon Mississippi.

“This entire state is screaming for change. This is an issue that needs to be resolved, and resolved quickly,” Gunn said. “The longer it goes, the more it festers and the harder it’s going to be later on. The image of our state is at stake here, ladies and gentleman. The nation is watching.”

Leaders in athletics are not the only ones to speak out against the flag — this week the Mississippi Baptist Convention, Mississippi Economic Council and the chair of the Mississippi Republican Party have all come out against it, arguing its harming the state’s reputation and serves as a painful symbol of oppression to many residents.

The Legislature needs a two-thirds vote in each chamber to change the flag. It’s likely they will try in the coming days.

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