Fight not fading over Confederate emblem on flag [View all]

JACKSON - The Confederate battle emblem on the Mississippi flag is an issue that won’t die, even when legislative leaders say firmly that there’s no consensus to either change the banner or to force it to be flown in public places where it has disappeared.

The persistence of the fight has been abundantly clear the past couple of weeks in the state House of Representatives.

Republican Rep. William Shirley of Quitman tried to amend several bills to put financial pressure on the eight public universities to display the flag. All have furled it because of the Confederate emblem that critics see as racist.

Supporters say the flag represents history. Shirley took part in a 2016 rally in support of the current flag, but said his effort to make universities fly the banner was not specifically about the rebel design.

Read more: http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/19/fight-not-fading-confederate-emblem-mississippi-flag/99370456/