Will Mississippi state flag be redesigned?

MISSISSIPPI — More than 150 years after the Civil War, the Confederate stars and bars are still part of Mississippi’s state flag.

Multiple attempts to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the flag have failed, but there’s a new effort in a Mississippi House bill.

The current Mississippi flag was adopted in 1894 and repealed in 1906 but kept in use.

House Bill 39 calls for the creation of a new flag commission made up of legislators, teachers, college professors, high school students, artists and historians.

The commission would come up with two new flag designs for legislators to vote on in 2021.

No matter what the design is, it can’t contain the Confederate battle flag like the current state flag does.

The bill has not been voted on yet.

If the bill is passed and the commission is formed, the state Legislature could be voting on a new flag design by the first of the year.

State voters and lawmakers have rejected proposed changes before.

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