Mississippi flag proposal

　　A Mississippi House committee has received a bill c alling for a statewide election on two options for a st ate flag.

　　The legislation was co-authored by six lawmakers, l ed by House Speaker Tim Ford, D-Baldwyn.

　　The Senate is expected to act on a bill to approve the state coat of arms as it existed before the Mississ ippi Supreme Court last May declared the flag and coat of arms had no standing in the state law.

　　Voters would choose between two flag designs—one, t he present banner with the Confederate battle flag in t he upper left corner and designated "1894 state flag de sign"; the other, a new design with a circle of 20 star s on a blue field in the upper left hand corner and des ignated "proposed new flag design".

　　On the heels of an economic boycott(联合抵制) in South Carolina over that state's flying of the Confederate ba ttle flag, Gov. Ronnie Musgrove created a commission of business and political leaders led by former Gov. Willi am Winter to recommend a new flag design for Mississipp i or retain the existing one.

　　The Mississippi Supreme Court had ruled last May th at the 106-year-old state flag had no legal standing.

　　After a series of contentious public hearings, the Winter-led commission asked the Legislature to order an election for voters to choose between the present flag and a commission proposal.

　　The bill before Capps' committee somewhat alters th e recommendation from the commission. The commission de sign included bars of blue and white with a grouping of 20 white stars in a red top left corner box. Mississipp i became the 20th state in the United States in 1817, b ut voted to secede(分离) in 1861.

　　Many black lawmakers want the current flag changed because they see it as a symbol of slavery and racial o ppression. They also would prefer to have the Legislatu re, not voters, make the change.

　　by Jack Elliott Jr.