OurTupelo

The post Marshall Ramsey: The Choice appeared first on Mississippi Today.

As legislators consider changing the state flag, Mississippi Today spoke with Robert James, president of the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP about his thoughts on elected officials’ role in removing it.

Lawmakers are expected to begin the process of changing the state flag, which features the Confederate battle emblem, as early as Saturday as the Legislature moves toward the end of its 2020 session.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Mississippi NAACP

Robert James, president of the Mississippi State Conference NAACP

Q: What do you think about the state flag?

James: If Mississippi is going to be a state that unifies all of its citizens, we must take a stand to eliminate this bitter hatred and get rid of this flag. And (if) there ever was a time for our officials to stand against this flag that’s been detrimental to our community, now is the time. Our legislators have the power, they have the collective voice of the people to act at this moment, and it’s their moment and their time to remove this Confederate monument from this state.

Do you think the flag right now represents Mississippi?

James: The flag right now represents seceding from the Union. It represents prejudice. It represents our past and history that does not and will not unify the citizens as one group of people. If we are living in a state that will continue to carry on the legacy of hate, racism, that flag does not represent us, the citizens of Mississippi. It never did unify us as citizens of the state of Mississippi. My thought is, it is the continuing cry for the lost cause of the Confederacy. That’s why it hasn’t been removed.

I just call on the legislators in the midst of this to do the right thing. It is a moment to act, it is a season to act, it is their season to vote and take down this symbol of hate in our state. Today is the day to move on that.

What is it about this moment? It seems like now is the first time in a long time lawmakers are having real conversations about changing the state flag.

James: The discussion has always been real when it comes to the African American stand on this Confederate emblem flag. There’s no issue on that. We’ve been fighting this and we will continue to fight this. (This flag) is not what Mississippi should be standing up for. Mississippi should be rallying its citizens. (This issue is) Not just about one side of people who are carrying the legacy of the lost cause of the Confederacy. Now is the time to move the state forward.

The post ‘Now is the time’: Mississippi NAACP leader urges lawmakers to change state flag quickly appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today

As has always been custom, the Mississippi state flag over the House chamber is removed at the end of the day.

Lawmakers are expected to begin the process of changing the Mississippi state flag, which features the Confederate battle emblem, as early as Saturday as the Legislature moves toward the end of its 2020 session.

As of Friday at noon, the plan — which several sources reiterated was “extremely fluid” — is for the House of Representatives to begin the legislative process to remove or replace the flag on Saturday morning.

A resolution will be filed that would suspend the rules so that legislators could take up a bill to address the flag. This resolution is expected to be the most difficult part of the process because it requires approval of a two-thirds majority in each chamber (82 of 122 House members, 35 of 52 Senate members). And the resolution must be passed by both chambers before either chamber could actually begin the process of debating the actual bill.

If the two-thirds threshold to suspend the rules is met, a simple majority would be required to pass the actual bill (62 of 122 House members, 27 of 52 Senate members).

Sources close to House leadership say they have — for now — the two-thirds majority votes to suspend rules, but they stress the margin is very thin.

On the Senate side, reports are that the leadership is “close” — within one or two votes — to having a two-thirds vote to suspend rules. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said the plan is for the House to move first.

“We have nothing to discuss on the Senate side, as you know … unless the House adopts their resolution,” Hosemann said on Thursday afternoon as he walked to a meeting with House Speaker Philip Gunn.

But as of noon on Friday, there is no consensus between House and Senate leadership over how, exactly, they will press forward with the actual bill itself. Many, including former Gov. Phil Bryant and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, have expressed support for a flag displaying the state seal, which includes the phrase “In God We Trust.” The influential Mississippi Economic Council, the state’s chamber of commerce, appeared to back that design with its release of a poll this week.

Legislative leaders have also discussed removing the current flag this session and forming a commission to develop multiple replacement designs to be placed on a ballot for a vote.

Gunn and Hosemann, as pressure mounts from religious, business, civic, university, sports and other leaders to remove the Confederate emblem from the flag, have attempted to whip a reluctant GOP majority in the Legislature into changing the flag.

Many Republican lawmakers have for years opposed changing the flag, particularly without a popular vote on the issue. Some who want the Legislature to change it fear a backlash from constituents.

And  Republican Gov. Tate Reeves – the de facto head of the state GOP – opposes the Legislature changing the flag.

But that sentiment appears to be changing among some lawmakers.

Rep. Karl Oliver, R-Winona, in a 2017 social media post said that those who support the removal of Confederate monuments should be “lynched.” In recent weeks, he declined to comment on the flag issue.

But on Thursday, Oliver issued a statement that said: “I am choosing to attempt to unite our state and ask each of you to join me in supporting a flag that creates unity — now is the time.” Oliver’s statement said the flag issue is growing “more divisive by the day” and “History will record the position I chose.”

A growing list of businesses, cities, counties and other groups have either stopped flying the flag or asked leaders to change it. Religious leaders have spoken out, saying changing the flag is a “moral issue.”  The NCAA, SEC, and Conference USA this month took action to ban post-season play in the state until the flag is changed.

The post Lawmakers plan to begin voting Saturday to change Mississippi state flag appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The post Marshall Ramsey: The Crossroads appeared first on Mississippi Today.

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.

The post Lawmakers again delay vote to change state flag but plan to stay in Jackson through the weekend appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The post Marshall Ramsey: The Governor’s Position appeared first on Mississippi Today.

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.”

The post Many coaches, but just one message: It’s time for Mississippi to change its state flag. appeared first on Mississippi Today.