Fifteen years ago I was in a different place in my life — just married, no children and starting a new job. Now I am a parent of a 7 year old and working in a job that is very different from my staff photographer position back in 2001.

I suspect many Mississippians can relate to my story.

And yet, if you talk to many state lawmakers, little has changed in 15 years since voters went to vote on the state flag.

By now, most residents know the arguments for and against the current state symbol.

Opponents say the flag with the Confederate battle flag on it represents division, oppression and racism for a significant portion of the state’s residents.

Supporters disagree saying the flag represents history and heritage for another significant portion of the residents.

In 2001, more than 64 percent of Mississippi voters chose to keep the Confederate emblem on the flag.

Adams County was one of the few counties in the state that voted for a new flag.

Whenever questions about the Mississippi flag are raised, the referendum from 15 years ago is brought up as the reason the flag should remain as it is.

Even after the mass shooting of nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., at the hands of Dylan Roof, a professed racist who frequently displayed the Confederate battle flag, many lawmakers including Gov. Phil Bryant said they respect the 2001 vote, as if that vote somehow permanently set the opinions of all Mississippians — even 15 years later.

Such a notion took a couple of blows from the Southern Baptist Convention and from the Mississippi annual conference of the United Methodist Church.

Tuesday, the Southern Baptist Convention voted on a resolution urging all Southern Baptist churches discontinue displaying the Confederate battle flag. For Mississippi churches that would include the display of the state flag.

“We call our brothers and sisters in Christ to discontinue the display of the Confederate battle flag as a sign of solidarity of the whole Body of Christ, including our African-American brothers and sisters,” the resolution said. “We recognize that, while the removal of the Confederate battle flag from public display is not going to solve the most severe racial tensions that plague our nation and churches, those professing Christ are called to extend grace and put the consciences of others ahead of their own interests and actions.”

Similar sentiment came from the United Methodist Church. Representatives from the Mississippi annual conference passed a resolution that agreed to “love our neighbor first” and to support changing the flag to a banner that “all of us can embrace and recognize as a symbol for a better Mississippi.”

Such strong opinions from two of the state’s biggest Christian congregations were missing from the conversation 15 years ago.

Will the resolutions from the Methodists and Baptist congregations significantly influence statewide opinion on the state flag? Has the issue changed in the minds of Mississippi voters?

Gov. Bryant has said that if the issue should be reconsidered, it should again be decided by a statewide referendum.

Mississippi Economic Council President Blake Wilson said about the vote in 2001, “This is a long-term issue, and the people of Mississippi just need more time to get there.’’

The votes by the Southern Baptist Convention and the United Methodist Church in Mississippi suggest some people in the state are changing.

Is it time for another vote?

 

Ben Hillyer is the design editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3540 or by e-mail at ben.hillyer@natchezdemocrat.com.