House Resolution 13

A RESOLUTION TO CREATE A NEW HOUSE RULE TO PROHIBIT THE OFFICIAL FLAG OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, WHICH CONTAINS THE CONFEDERATE BATTLE FLAG AS PART OF ITS DESIGN, FROM BEING DISPLAYED IN THE HOUSE CHAMBER.

WHEREAS, the official flag of the State of Mississippi, which was originally adopted in 1894 and later readopted in 2001, contains the Confederate Battle Flag as part of its design; and

WHEREAS, the Confederate Battle Flag was originally used by certain military units of the Confederacy during the Civil War and was later included as part of the design of second and third official flags of the Confederate States; and

WHEREAS, in the early decades after the end of the Civil War, the Confederate Battle Flag was used as a memorial symbol for the southern soldiers who died during the war, but since that time, the symbolism of the flag has taken on new uses and new meanings across time and across different people; and

WHEREAS, when the Mississippi State Flag was adopted in 1894, the state was no longer under the restrictions of Reconstruction and it had recently adopted the 1890 Constitution, which contained a number of provisions to ensure that the white power structure remained supreme in the state; and

WHEREAS, the Ku Klux Klan, beginning with its second rebirth in the 1930s and 1940s, used the Confederate Battle Flag as an instrument of fear, intimidation and violence, and since that time, the very sight of the Confederate Battle Flag triggers the emotions of fear, intimidation and anger in a large group of the citizens of Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, the Confederate Battle Flag was used in 1948 as a symbol of defiance against the federal government in support of segregation by the States' Rights Democratic Party - the so-called Dixiecrats - a breakaway faction of the Democratic Party that was formed in protest to the Democratic Party convention's adoption of a progressive platform on civil rights; and

WHEREAS, as the civil rights movement gathered force in the 1950s and 1960s, segregationists vehemently employed the use of the Confederate Battle Flag as a symbol of their divisive protests against civil rights and social equality for blacks and in support of Jim Crow segregation; and

WHEREAS, the alienating use of the Confederate Battle Flag for purposes other than those related to the Civil War, for some as a symbol of white supremacy and for others as a symbol of hate toward anyone or any group that disagrees with certain points of view, has continued throughout the decades up to the present day; and

WHEREAS, the Mississippi State Flag, with the Confederate Battle Flag as part of its design, now represents a divisive symbol of oppression, hate and pain to a large group of the citizens of Mississippi, which has intensified in recent years because of several terrible acts that were carried out by persons using the Confederate Battle Flag as their inspiration or backdrop for their actions; and

WHEREAS, the Mississippi State Flag should be a symbol that unites the diverse citizens of our state and not one that divides and separates and pits one group against another, but our current flag design is not one of unity but instead is a source of growing controversy, conflict and bitterness among the people of our state; and

WHEREAS, the Mississippi House of Representatives is the people's house, representing all people of this state and funded by taxes paid by all people of this state, but the current state flag does not represent all of the people of this state, so the Mississippi House of Representatives should not display the state flag in the House chamber as long as it contains the Confederate Battle Flag as part of its design:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That the 2016-2020 Rules of the House are amended by creating a new rule to read as follows:

____. The official flag of the State of Mississippi, which contains the Confederate Battle Flag as part of the design, may not be displayed in the House Chamber in any manner except as authorized by this rule. This rule does not prohibit the display of small versions of the state flag by members at their desks or by pins on their clothing.