Starkville may soon join a handful of other Mississippi cities that have opted to stop flying the state flag.
Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn told The Dispatch on Monday that she has put a motion on the agenda for the Board of Aldermen’s July 28 meeting to remove the state flag from all city property.
“I explicitly support the removal of the state flag from all property owned by the city of Starkville,” Wynn said.
The move comes in the wake of the June 17 shooting deaths of nine African American worshippers at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Scrutiny towards the Confederate battle flag, which is displayed on Mississippi’s official state flag, has grown in the weeks since, after photos surfaced of confessed shooter Dylann Roof posing with the flag.
South Carolina has removed the Confederate battle flag from state capitol grounds and pressure has mounted for Mississippi to change the state flag.
Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman added his support, saying Monday he applauded Wynn for bringing the issue before the board.
“The flag presents an image that is offensive and hurtful to many,” Wiseman said. “I believe it sends the wrong message about who we are as a community. I am hopeful that our state leaders will act to change the flag. Until that time, state law gives us the option to fly it. I support Alderwoman Wynn’s effort and I hope our board will act to take down the flag.”
Mississippi’s flag flies with the U.S. flag in front of Starkville city hall. Wiseman said Wynn’s measure — if aldermen approve it — would remove the flag from before city hall and other city property, such as fire stations and parks. The measure would not remove the flag from Starkville’s schools, Wiseman said, because they are not directly under aldermen’s jurisdiction.
‘It can be a part of positive change’
Wynn’s stance against the flag is not new — she said she voted against it in 2001, when roughly two-thirds of Mississippi voters opted to keep the flag the way it is.
Still, she said photos of Roof with the flag, along with a friendship she’s fostered with Charleston city councilman Rodney Williams after meeting him in 2013, were motivation enough to seek change in Starkville.
She also pointed to five other Mississippi cities — Clarksdale, Grenada, Hattiesburg, Magnolia and Vicksburg — that have chosen to take the flag down following the Charleston shootings.
Wynn added that Jackson has not flown the flag for years, and the Jackson city council recently approved a resolution calling for Mississippi to alter the state flag.
“The removal of the flag, if embraced by our city, will not be a panacea but it certainly can be a part of positive change for our city and state,” she said. “In October, our city will be the host city for the Mississippi Municipal League conference. Hundreds of municipal elected officials will visit our city and I hope that we will have become one of the cities that has removed the state flag from its proprieties.”
Intense debate has raged about the flag, and Wynn said she’s aware that it may be difficult to remove it from city grounds. Even so, she said she felt the discussion is one Starkville needs to have.
Wiseman agreed.
“It is a discussion that I welcome and I believe we can grow as a community by having a thoughtful and civil discussion on the issue,” he said.
Wiseman pointed out Starkville’s diversity, which is fueled in part by Mississippi State University. He said that diversity is important, and added that removing the flag would speak well of the community’s character.
“We are a community that’s known for being loving, kind, hospitable, tolerant and inclusive,” he said. “I think taking down the flag is an appropriate message about who we are.”
Eventually, Wynn said, she wants to see Mississippi’s flag change altogether. Until that time, she said, removing it from city grounds will have to do.
“I want to see our state with a flag that is inclusive to everyone and for everyone,” she said.
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