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Feeling a lot of emotions. Tomorrow will be my first day as a Mississippian that I will wake up and not live under a banner of the Confederacy as the official state flag. What does this mean for us as a people? (1)
This means that our official image is no longer, from a symbolic perspective, yolked to the Lost Cause. We can take our first official step as a free people. Free of the grip of Confederate memory. Free to learn about our history without being controlled by it (2).
This means that we can go about life. We can do good deeds and display to the world all the good that is happening in the state without seeing those deeds undone by the perception accompanying a symbol that is divisive and hate filled (3).
This means that we will hopefully have a symbol which can begin to heal us as a people. There have been centuries of abuse and division between people in MS. Perhaps it will take several more centuries to right those wrongs, but we can begin moving down that path tomorrow (4).
This means that our children will no longer grow up thinking that this symbol is officially (recognized by the govt) acceptable and they no longer have to officially “defend it” by continuing to fight a war that they have been guilted into fighting by Lost Cause ideology (5).
This means that our African American citizens will no longer have to be reminded every single day that a symbol standing for slavery, segregation, redemption, massive resistance of Civil Rights, the KKK & modern white supremacy is the official symbol of their state government (6)
This means that people will immediately feel more welcome in Mississippi & Mississippians can show all of our visitors that we cherish them more than we do a symbol which stood for racialized control. We can offer hospitality to visitors and to each other (7).
This means that Mississippians have removed an official symbol. Tomorrow we can all start focusing more on our hearts. Unless all of our hearts change then removing this symbol is just that....symbolic (8).
This means that our economy will grow and thrive more because businesses will not be afraid to move here and operate under an official symbol of the state that is associated with racism and hate (9).
This means that a grassroots movement of Mississippians starting in the nineteen seventies worked and labored over 50 years to see a change in the flag and that grassroots movement was reflected in official action taken by the state government. The people have spoken (10).
