University of Mississippi quietly removed state flag with Confederate battle emblem

The University of Mississippi quietly removed the state flag with its Confederate battle emblem from its place of honor on campus Monday morning after students and faculty called it a divisive symbol that undermines efforts to promote diversity, tolerance and respect.

Interim Chancellor Morris Stocks waited until after the brief ceremony was over to announce that he had ordered the flag lowered and sent to the university’s archives.

The action came days after the student senate, the faculty senate and other groups adopted a student-led resolution calling for removal of the banner from the Oxford campus, a bastion for Southern elites since its founding in 1848.

“As Mississippi’s flagship university, we have a deep love and respect for our state,” Stocks said in a statement Monday. “Because the flag remains Mississippi’s official banner, this was a hard decision. I understand the flag represents tradition and honor to some. But to others, the flag means that some members of the Ole Miss family are not welcomed or valued.”

Without fanfare and with no advance public notice, university police officers removed the banner early Monday from a flagpole that stands among oak trees in the Lyceum circle, between the white-columned main administration building and a marble statue of a saluting Confederate soldier. It’s the same area where deadly white riots broke out in 1962, when James Meredith was enrolled as the first black student at Ole Miss, under a federal court order and with protection from a phalanx of U.S. marshals.

Today’s students forced this issue at the height of Mississippi’s campaign season, as the governor and most state lawmakers seek re-election on Nov. 3, and many of these politicians have been loath to stake their own positions.

The speaker of the House has called for change, but his fellow Republican, Gov. Phil Bryant, declined to call a special legislative session to debate it, saying Mississippians themselves should to decide the flag’s future.

An integrated group of more than 200 people joined a remove-the-flag rally Oct. 16 on the Oxford campus, sponsored by the university chapter of the NAACP.

“I think college students react a lot emotionally,” the governor said after the student senate vote, and he held his ground after the flag was pulled down.

“Mississippians overwhelmingly voted in 2001 to adopt the current Mississippi state flag. I believe publicly funded institutions should respect the law as it is written today. It clearly states ‘The state flag shall receive all the respect and ceremonious etiquette given the American flag,'” Bryant said in a statement.

The law Bryant’s statement cited makes display of the state flag optional, not mandatory, at public buildings.

Since 1894, the Mississippi flag has had the Confederate battle emblem in the upper left corner – a blue X with 13 white stars, over a field of red. Residents chose to keep the flag during a 2001 statewide vote.

However, complaints that the battle flag is more about promoting white dominance than preserving Southern heritage have been rising nationwide since the June massacre of nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. Police called it a racially motivated attack by a white man who had posed with Confederate flags.

The University of Mississippi has struggled with Old South symbolism for decades. Sports teams are still called the Rebels, but the university several years ago retired the Colonel Rebel mascot – a white-haired old man some thought resembled a plantation owner. The university also banned sticks in the football stadium nearly 20 years ago, which eliminated most Confederate battle flags that fans carried.

“The University of Mississippi community came to the realization years ago that the Confederate battle flag did not represent many of our core values, such as civility and respect for others,” Stocks said in the statement Monday. “Since that time, we have become a stronger and better university. We join other leaders in our state who are calling for a change in the state flag.”

Several Mississippi cities and counties have stopped flying the state flag since the Charleston shootings. The state’s three historically black universities had stopped flying the flag earlier, and the state’s only black U.S. representative, Democrat Bennie Thompson, does not display the state flag in his offices because of the Confederate symbol.

—-

Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter: http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus

The University of Mississippi quietly removed the state flag with its Confederate battle emblem from its place of honor on campus Monday morning after students . . .

Follow Us On Google News | Get Our Newsletter



Trending News on PVDN

  • puerto-vallarta-rainfall-hurricane-flossie-july-2025Puerto Vallarta braces for torrential rains as Hurricane Flossie gains strength Puerto Vallarta faces a high risk of flooding as Hurricane Flossie intensifies in the Pacific. Torrential rains and overwhelmed drainage systems pose major challenges for the city. Puerto Vallarta, a city wedged between the Sierra Madre mountains and the Pacific Ocean, is no stranger to dramatic weather shifts—but this summer, the skies are testing the…
  • raw-sewage-playa-los-muertos-puerto-vallartaMore Raw Sewage Dumping at Playa Los Muertos Appear to Come From Local Hotel Business owners in Puerto Vallarta are demanding action after raw sewage was discovered leaking onto Playa Los Muertos, raising public health and tourism concerns. A raw sewage leak at Playa Los Muertos in Puerto Vallarta has sparked outrage among local tourist service providers and business owners, who say the contamination is driving away visitors and…
  • hurricane-flossie-strengthens-july-1-2025Hurricane Flossie will bring tropical storm conditions to parts of Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima, and Jalisco Hurricane Flossie intensifies off Mexico's Pacific coast with winds near 90 mph. Heavy rain, flooding, and tropical storm conditions expected in parts of Guerrero, Michoacán, Colima, and Jalisco. Hurricane Flossie continued to intensify early Tuesday morning as it moved west-northwestward off the coast of southwestern Mexico, prompting tropical storm warnings and watches across multiple states.…
  • tropical-storm-flossie-hurricane-mexico-pacific-coastTropical Storm Flossie to Strengthen into Hurricane as It Tracks Along Mexico’s Pacific Coast Tropical Storm Flossie is expected to become a Category 2 hurricane by July 2 as it moves parallel to Mexico’s Pacific coast, bringing dangerous rainfall, wind, and surf. Tropical Storm Flossie is on the verge of forming from Tropical Depression Six-E and is forecast to strengthen rapidly into a hurricane as it parallels Mexico’s southwestern…
  • tropical-storm-flossie-strengthens-mexico-june-2025Tropical Storm Flossie Strengthens Off Mexico’s Pacific Coast, Could Become Hurricane by Tuesday Tropical Storm Flossie gains strength off southwestern Mexico, with hurricane status possible by Tuesday. Storm warnings issued from Punta San Telmo to Playa Perula. Tropical Storm Flossie continues to gain strength off Mexico’s Pacific coastline, prompting tropical storm warnings and watches across several southwestern states. According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Flossie is expected…
  • oregon-murder-fugitive-extradited-puerto-vallartaFugitive Wanted for 2008 Oregon Homicide Captured in Puerto Vallarta and Extradited to U.S. Jesús Rodríguez Borrayo, a fugitive for 17 years, was extradited from Mexico to Oregon for his role in a 2008 drive-by shooting that left one dead. He was located in Puerto Vallarta. A man wanted for murder and other violent crimes in the United States for nearly two decades has been extradited after being found…
  • tropical-storm-flossie-mexico-coast-rain-surf-alertCabo Corrientes under tropical storm watch as Flossie expected to Bring Heavy Rain and Dangerous Surf to Southwestern Mexico Tropical Storm Flossie is forecast to strengthen and may impact Mexico's southwest coast from Zihuatanejo to Cabo Corrientes with heavy rain, flooding, and hazardous surf early this week. Tropical Storm Flossie is expected to deliver heavy rains, gusty winds, and dangerous surf conditions to Mexico’s southwestern coast in the coming days, prompting authorities to issue…
  • cabo-corrientes-warning-canceled-hurricane-flossieCabo Corrientes Spared as Hurricane Flossie Warning Lifted, But Pacific Coast Still at Risk Cabo Corrientes no longer under tropical storm watch as Hurricane Flossie nears Mexico's Pacific coast, with dangerous winds and heavy rains threatening Michoacán, Colima, and Jalisco. The tropical storm watch for Cabo Corrientes was officially canceled Tuesday, offering a measure of relief for the scenic coastal town as Hurricane Flossie continues to churn off Mexico’s…
  • cancun-2025-sargassum-beaches-and-activitiesSargassum won’t ruin your Cancun vacation, there are plenty of clean beaches and tourist activities As the 2025 sargassum season continues through September, visitors to Cancun can still enjoy clear beaches like Playa Delfines and Playa Caracol. As the 2025 sargassum season intensifies across Quintana Roo, tourists are finding it more difficult to enjoy the region’s iconic white-sand beaches without encountering the unsightly brown seaweed. While the influx of sargassum…
  • cancun-beach-cleanup-sargassumMassive Beach Cleanup to Combat Sargassum in Cancun After a week of the Cancun’s tourism department denying sargassum existed and insisting media photos were fakes, over 600 public servants and volunteers joined the first simultaneous beach cleanup. In a bold step toward environmental preservation and tourism sustainability, Cancun's Municipal President Ana Paty Peralta led the city’s first simultaneous beach cleanup effort this week.…
Scroll to Top