• Apply
  • Archives
  • NewsWatch
  • Classifieds
  • Multimedia
    • Ole Miss in Puerto Rico
    • Campus Protests
    • The Queen of Marks
    • Meet Aubrey Armstrong, a Real Champion and Local Celebrity
    • Mississippi voters passed Initiative 65. What’s next?
    • One year later: COVID-19 at Ole Miss
    • “It’s Just Not Fair”: One Woman’s Fight For Access to Community Water
    • A way with words
  • Subscribe to our newsletter
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
No Result
View All Result
The Daily Mississippian
  • News
    • All
    • Associated Student Body
    Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions?

    Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions?

    University cuts support for Oxford Pride

    University cuts support for Oxford Pride

    ASB expands legislative council, elects Wesley Templet president pro tempore

    ASB expands legislative council, elects Wesley Templet president pro tempore

    What goes into making Commencement happen for 5,500 graduates?

    What goes into making Commencement happen for 5,500 graduates?

    Stamps Impact Prize awarded to 15 students

    Stamps Impact Prize awarded to 15 students

    MPower sets on a new path amid low attendance

    MPower sets on a new path amid low attendance

  • Sports
    • All
    • Game Recap
    House v. NCAA settlements gets approved, universities can now directly pay athletes

    House v. NCAA settlements gets approved, universities can now directly pay athletes

    Ole Miss Softball takes series against Missouri

    Ole Miss Softball advances to World Series for first time in program history

    Ole Miss Baseball wins big at home against UT Martin

    Ole Miss Baseball wins big at home against UT Martin

    Ole Miss Baseball falters on the road against in-state rival

    Ole Miss Baseball falters on the road against in-state rival

    Ole Miss Softball dominates Rocket City Softball Showcase

    Ole Miss Softball battles through SEC Tournament

    Ole Miss softball falls to No. 1 Tennessee

    Ole Miss softball falls to No. 1 Tennessee

  • Arts & Culture
    Seniors cement their campus legacy with a brick

    Seniors cement their campus legacy with a brick

    Student photographers capture picture-perfect graduation moments

    Student photographers capture picture-perfect graduation moments

    Julien Baker & TORRES ‘send a prayer’ to Oxford

    Julien Baker & TORRES ‘send a prayer’ to Oxford

    Double Decker 28 rocks the Square

    Double Decker 28 rocks the Square

    Grove trees cared for by the Department of Landscaping Services. Photo courtesy: Jillian Russell

    An ode to campus trees and those who care for them

    ‘Sinners’ falls flat on first watch

    ‘Sinners’ falls flat on first watch

  • Opinion
    • All
    • Ask a Philosopher
    • Diary of a Black Girl
    • From The Editorial Board
    • Lavender Letters
    • Letters to the editor
    lavender letters graphic, a purple envelope with a purple letter, "lavender letters" is written in bold black font on the letter

    Lavender Letters: senior sign-off

    Diary of a Black Girl: senior sign-off

    Diary of a Black Girl: senior sign-off

    Opinion: How to avoid summertime sadness

    Opinion: How to avoid summertime sadness

    Ask a Philosopher: How do I quell my public speaking fears?

    Ask a Philosopher: Why do other people not understand me?

    A farewell from Opinion Editor Justice Rose

    A farewell from Opinion Editor Justice Rose

    Why evangelical Christians need to feel the heat on climate change

    Why evangelical Christians need to feel the heat on climate change

  • Special Projects
    • All
    • It's a Whole New Ball Game
    • Jordan Center Symposium
    • Rising Tides & Temperatures

    Jordan Center debuts with symposium addressing impact of social media, AI on democracy

    Richard Lui: News media must not make same mistakes with AI that it did with social media

    Elise Jordan: Artificial Intelligence will completely transform world

    Elise Jordan: Artificial Intelligence will completely transform world

    danah boyd: Journalism connects people in a healthy social fabric

    danah boyd: Journalism connects people in a healthy social fabric

    Meetali Jain holds Big Tech accountable

    Meetali Jain holds Big Tech accountable

    Dana Milbank asks, ‘Can free press survive the Trump era?’

    Dana Milbank asks, ‘Can free press survive the Trump era?’

  • Print / e-Editions
  • About Us
    • Applications
    • Advertise
      • Advertise with Us
      • Classifieds
    • Contact
    • Editorial Board
    • Policies
    • Daily Mississippian Staff 2025-26
  • News
    • All
    • Associated Student Body
    Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions?

    Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions?

    University cuts support for Oxford Pride

    University cuts support for Oxford Pride

    ASB expands legislative council, elects Wesley Templet president pro tempore

    ASB expands legislative council, elects Wesley Templet president pro tempore

    What goes into making Commencement happen for 5,500 graduates?

    What goes into making Commencement happen for 5,500 graduates?

    Stamps Impact Prize awarded to 15 students

    Stamps Impact Prize awarded to 15 students

    MPower sets on a new path amid low attendance

    MPower sets on a new path amid low attendance

  • Sports
    • All
    • Game Recap
    House v. NCAA settlements gets approved, universities can now directly pay athletes

    House v. NCAA settlements gets approved, universities can now directly pay athletes

    Ole Miss Softball takes series against Missouri

    Ole Miss Softball advances to World Series for first time in program history

    Ole Miss Baseball wins big at home against UT Martin

    Ole Miss Baseball wins big at home against UT Martin

    Ole Miss Baseball falters on the road against in-state rival

    Ole Miss Baseball falters on the road against in-state rival

    Ole Miss Softball dominates Rocket City Softball Showcase

    Ole Miss Softball battles through SEC Tournament

    Ole Miss softball falls to No. 1 Tennessee

    Ole Miss softball falls to No. 1 Tennessee

  • Arts & Culture
    Seniors cement their campus legacy with a brick

    Seniors cement their campus legacy with a brick

    Student photographers capture picture-perfect graduation moments

    Student photographers capture picture-perfect graduation moments

    Julien Baker & TORRES ‘send a prayer’ to Oxford

    Julien Baker & TORRES ‘send a prayer’ to Oxford

    Double Decker 28 rocks the Square

    Double Decker 28 rocks the Square

    Grove trees cared for by the Department of Landscaping Services. Photo courtesy: Jillian Russell

    An ode to campus trees and those who care for them

    ‘Sinners’ falls flat on first watch

    ‘Sinners’ falls flat on first watch

  • Opinion
    • All
    • Ask a Philosopher
    • Diary of a Black Girl
    • From The Editorial Board
    • Lavender Letters
    • Letters to the editor
    lavender letters graphic, a purple envelope with a purple letter, "lavender letters" is written in bold black font on the letter

    Lavender Letters: senior sign-off

    Diary of a Black Girl: senior sign-off

    Diary of a Black Girl: senior sign-off

    Opinion: How to avoid summertime sadness

    Opinion: How to avoid summertime sadness

    Ask a Philosopher: How do I quell my public speaking fears?

    Ask a Philosopher: Why do other people not understand me?

    A farewell from Opinion Editor Justice Rose

    A farewell from Opinion Editor Justice Rose

    Why evangelical Christians need to feel the heat on climate change

    Why evangelical Christians need to feel the heat on climate change

  • Special Projects
    • All
    • It's a Whole New Ball Game
    • Jordan Center Symposium
    • Rising Tides & Temperatures

    Jordan Center debuts with symposium addressing impact of social media, AI on democracy

    Richard Lui: News media must not make same mistakes with AI that it did with social media

    Elise Jordan: Artificial Intelligence will completely transform world

    Elise Jordan: Artificial Intelligence will completely transform world

    danah boyd: Journalism connects people in a healthy social fabric

    danah boyd: Journalism connects people in a healthy social fabric

    Meetali Jain holds Big Tech accountable

    Meetali Jain holds Big Tech accountable

    Dana Milbank asks, ‘Can free press survive the Trump era?’

    Dana Milbank asks, ‘Can free press survive the Trump era?’

  • Print / e-Editions
  • About Us
    • Applications
    • Advertise
      • Advertise with Us
      • Classifieds
    • Contact
    • Editorial Board
    • Policies
    • Daily Mississippian Staff 2025-26
No Result
View All Result
The Daily Mississippian
No Result
View All Result

Letter to the editor: Open letter: Charlottesville and the Mississippi flag

OpinionDeskbyOpinionDesk
August 24, 2017
Reading Time: 5 mins read

As college professors, we have watched events of the past few days in Charlottesville and around the country while preparing for a new semester. We know that students in our classes will bring many questions and perspectives about this moment in history. They will look for us to comment on a response by the President that many Republicans and Democrats alike found deeply troubling and insufficient. They will wonder why many white nationalists and racist groups feel empowered at this moment in time. We have our work cut out for us.

In turn, we are also historians in and of the state of Mississippi, where white massive resistance to black advancement has been the norm for 200 years. It is now incumbent upon us to take the strongest of stands against the white supremacist establishment in this nation and in this state and put this recent wave of white nationalism in historical context.

With that in mind, it is long past time for the emblem identified with the Confederate States of America to be removed from the state flag of Mississippi. This flag does not reflect the entirety of the state’s history and people. It ignores the reality of the African American experience, and it limits the scope of what Mississippi has been, is, and can be.

Historians have long held that the Civil War was fought for the right of southern states to maintain and expand the institution of slavery. In declaring their support for the Confederacy, Mississippi’s leaders clearly stated in the secession ordinance of 1860, “Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest of the world….A blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. That blow has been long aimed at the institution, and was at the point of reaching its consummation. There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates of abolition, or a dissolution of the Union, whose principles had been subverted to work out our ruin.”

Not only that, the emblem connected with the Confederacy was not adopted for general use until 1894, meant to further demean African Americans after the 1890 state constitution implemented black disfranchisement. At the time Mississippi was majority African American and, in the 1870s, had even had two black U.S. Senators. When Barack Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate, he was only the 5th black U.S. Senator in history.

With black disfranchisement, white supremacists in Mississippi quickly established their control of Jim Crow social, political, and economic power, and the rest of the South rewrote each state constitution to reflect what was called the “Mississippi Plan.” With the advent of lynching, those white leaders assured there would be little challenge to their authority.

In its third edition of Lynching in America, the Equal Justice Initiative has recalculated the number of known lynchings, and Mississippi was number one per capita and number one in total: 654 from 1877 to 1950. For three-quarters of a century, that was a lynching every six weeks, and those are just the “known” victims. Throughout the South, that number was 4,084 over those 73 years or more than one lynching every day.

The threat of racist mob violence has been present throughout American history, and, as seen by the flag-wielding neo-Nazis and racist sympathizers in Charlottesville, the use of Confederate emblems echoes the racist reasoning of whites in Mississippi at the end of the 19th Century, who used terror to impose minority rule.

In light of these facts, we object in the strongest possible terms to perpetuating a symbol of racial terror on a flag that is supposed to represent the people of Mississippi. The current state flag only perpetuates division and discord, rather than unity and understanding. Emblems and flags matter. They signify what is important to a citizenry and cause us to reflect on our history.

We demand a flag that represents the entirety of our state’s history and all its people, and we are encouraged that some state leaders, both conservatives and progressives, have declared it is time for the current flag to come down.

As historians, we by no means want to erase history. Quite the opposite. We believe it is important to remember these emblems and teach students about what they have represented to the people of our state over time. However, the appropriate historical context for the long-time state flag and Confederate emblem can be delineated in textbooks, museums, and archives so that the public might reflect upon it with the support of proper, historical interpretation.

This emblem does not belong on an official government flag that signifies the values of all the people of the state of Mississippi, nor does the emblem belong in public spaces that officially represent those people.

It is time to bring down that flag.

Robert Luckett, Ph.D.,Jackson State University

Otis W. Pickett, Ph.D., Mississippi College

Stephanie Rolph, Ph.D., Millsaps College

Janice Brockley, Ph.D., Jackson State University

Alison Greene, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

William Storey, Ph.D., Millsaps College

James Giesen, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

Christian Pinnen, Ph.D., Mississippi College

Robert S. McElvaine, Ph.D., Millsaps College

Kathryn Green, Ph.D., Mississippi Valley State University

Anne Marshall, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

Sade Turnipseed, Ph.D., Mississippi Valley State University

Bridget Smith Pieschel, Ph.D., Mississippi University for Women

Elizabeth Anne Payne, Ph. D., University of Mississippi

Anne Twitty, Ph.D., University of Mississippi

Max Grivno, Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi

Susannah J. Ural, Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi

Charles Westmoreland, Jr., Ph.D., Delta State University

Darren Grem, Ph.D., University of Mississippi

Alexandra Finley, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

John R. Neff, Ph.D., University of Mississippi

Ted M. Ownby, Ph.D., University of Mississippi

Amy Wiese Forbes, Ph.D., Millsaps College

Erin M. Kempker, Ph.D., Mississippi University for Women

Andrew P. Haley, Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi

Kevin D. Greene, Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi

Jarod Roll, Ph.D., University of Mississippi

April Holm, Ph.D., University of Mississippi

Rebecca Tuuri, Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi

Kyle F. Zelner, Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi

Patrick Connelly, Ph.D., Mississippi College

Jason Ward, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

In Case You Missed It

House v. NCAA settlements gets approved, universities can now directly pay athletes

House v. NCAA settlements gets approved, universities can now directly pay athletes

3 weeks ago
Ole Miss Softball takes series against Missouri

Ole Miss Softball advances to World Series for first time in program history

4 weeks ago
Ole Miss Baseball wins big at home against UT Martin

Ole Miss Baseball wins big at home against UT Martin

1 month ago
Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions?

Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions?

1 month ago
Ole Miss Baseball falters on the road against in-state rival

Ole Miss Baseball falters on the road against in-state rival

1 month ago
Ole Miss Softball dominates Rocket City Softball Showcase

Ole Miss Softball battles through SEC Tournament

1 month ago

Letter to the editor: Open letter: Charlottesville and the Mississippi flag

OpinionDeskbyOpinionDesk
August 24, 2017
Reading Time: 5 mins read

As college professors, we have watched events of the past few days in Charlottesville and around the country while preparing for a new semester. We know that students in our classes will bring many questions and perspectives about this moment in history. They will look for us to comment on a response by the President that many Republicans and Democrats alike found deeply troubling and insufficient. They will wonder why many white nationalists and racist groups feel empowered at this moment in time. We have our work cut out for us.

In turn, we are also historians in and of the state of Mississippi, where white massive resistance to black advancement has been the norm for 200 years. It is now incumbent upon us to take the strongest of stands against the white supremacist establishment in this nation and in this state and put this recent wave of white nationalism in historical context.

With that in mind, it is long past time for the emblem identified with the Confederate States of America to be removed from the state flag of Mississippi. This flag does not reflect the entirety of the state’s history and people. It ignores the reality of the African American experience, and it limits the scope of what Mississippi has been, is, and can be.

Historians have long held that the Civil War was fought for the right of southern states to maintain and expand the institution of slavery. In declaring their support for the Confederacy, Mississippi’s leaders clearly stated in the secession ordinance of 1860, “Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest of the world….A blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. That blow has been long aimed at the institution, and was at the point of reaching its consummation. There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates of abolition, or a dissolution of the Union, whose principles had been subverted to work out our ruin.”

Not only that, the emblem connected with the Confederacy was not adopted for general use until 1894, meant to further demean African Americans after the 1890 state constitution implemented black disfranchisement. At the time Mississippi was majority African American and, in the 1870s, had even had two black U.S. Senators. When Barack Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate, he was only the 5th black U.S. Senator in history.

With black disfranchisement, white supremacists in Mississippi quickly established their control of Jim Crow social, political, and economic power, and the rest of the South rewrote each state constitution to reflect what was called the “Mississippi Plan.” With the advent of lynching, those white leaders assured there would be little challenge to their authority.

In its third edition of Lynching in America, the Equal Justice Initiative has recalculated the number of known lynchings, and Mississippi was number one per capita and number one in total: 654 from 1877 to 1950. For three-quarters of a century, that was a lynching every six weeks, and those are just the “known” victims. Throughout the South, that number was 4,084 over those 73 years or more than one lynching every day.

The threat of racist mob violence has been present throughout American history, and, as seen by the flag-wielding neo-Nazis and racist sympathizers in Charlottesville, the use of Confederate emblems echoes the racist reasoning of whites in Mississippi at the end of the 19th Century, who used terror to impose minority rule.

In light of these facts, we object in the strongest possible terms to perpetuating a symbol of racial terror on a flag that is supposed to represent the people of Mississippi. The current state flag only perpetuates division and discord, rather than unity and understanding. Emblems and flags matter. They signify what is important to a citizenry and cause us to reflect on our history.

We demand a flag that represents the entirety of our state’s history and all its people, and we are encouraged that some state leaders, both conservatives and progressives, have declared it is time for the current flag to come down.

As historians, we by no means want to erase history. Quite the opposite. We believe it is important to remember these emblems and teach students about what they have represented to the people of our state over time. However, the appropriate historical context for the long-time state flag and Confederate emblem can be delineated in textbooks, museums, and archives so that the public might reflect upon it with the support of proper, historical interpretation.

This emblem does not belong on an official government flag that signifies the values of all the people of the state of Mississippi, nor does the emblem belong in public spaces that officially represent those people.

It is time to bring down that flag.

Robert Luckett, Ph.D.,Jackson State University

Otis W. Pickett, Ph.D., Mississippi College

Stephanie Rolph, Ph.D., Millsaps College

Janice Brockley, Ph.D., Jackson State University

Alison Greene, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

William Storey, Ph.D., Millsaps College

James Giesen, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

Christian Pinnen, Ph.D., Mississippi College

Robert S. McElvaine, Ph.D., Millsaps College

Kathryn Green, Ph.D., Mississippi Valley State University

Anne Marshall, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

Sade Turnipseed, Ph.D., Mississippi Valley State University

Bridget Smith Pieschel, Ph.D., Mississippi University for Women

Elizabeth Anne Payne, Ph. D., University of Mississippi

Anne Twitty, Ph.D., University of Mississippi

Max Grivno, Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi

Susannah J. Ural, Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi

Charles Westmoreland, Jr., Ph.D., Delta State University

Darren Grem, Ph.D., University of Mississippi

Alexandra Finley, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

John R. Neff, Ph.D., University of Mississippi

Ted M. Ownby, Ph.D., University of Mississippi

Amy Wiese Forbes, Ph.D., Millsaps College

Erin M. Kempker, Ph.D., Mississippi University for Women

Andrew P. Haley, Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi

Kevin D. Greene, Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi

Jarod Roll, Ph.D., University of Mississippi

April Holm, Ph.D., University of Mississippi

Rebecca Tuuri, Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi

Kyle F. Zelner, Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi

Patrick Connelly, Ph.D., Mississippi College

Jason Ward, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

In Case You Missed It

House v. NCAA settlements gets approved, universities can now directly pay athletes

House v. NCAA settlements gets approved, universities can now directly pay athletes

3 weeks ago
Ole Miss Softball takes series against Missouri

Ole Miss Softball advances to World Series for first time in program history

4 weeks ago
Ole Miss Baseball wins big at home against UT Martin

Ole Miss Baseball wins big at home against UT Martin

1 month ago
Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions?

Is the university getting closer to a cap on admissions?

1 month ago
Ole Miss Baseball falters on the road against in-state rival

Ole Miss Baseball falters on the road against in-state rival

1 month ago
Ole Miss Softball dominates Rocket City Softball Showcase

Ole Miss Softball battles through SEC Tournament

1 month ago

Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube
Mississippi Press Association
Sign up for our weekly newsletter!
  • News
  • Sports
  • Arts & Culture
  • Opinion
  • Special Projects
  • Print / e-Editions
  • About Us
    • Applications
    • Advertise
      • Advertise with Us
      • Classifieds
    • Contact
    • Editorial Board
    • Policies
    • Daily Mississippian Staff 2025-26

All Rights Reserved to S. Gale Denley Student Media Center 2019

Republish this article

Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Unless otherwise noted, you can republish most of The Daily Mississippian’s stories for free under a Creative Commons license.

For digital publications:
Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the HTML code and paste it into your Content Management System (CMS).
Editorial cartoons and photo essays are not included under the Creative Commons license and therefore do not have the "Republish This Story" button option. To learn more about our cartoon syndication services, click here.
You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
You can’t sell or syndicate our stories.
Any website our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @thedailymississippian on Facebook and @thedm_news on X (formerly Twitter).

For print publications:
You have to credit The Daily Mississippian. We prefer “Author Name, The Daily Mississippian” in the byline. If you’re not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: “This story was originally published by The Daily Mississippian” and include our website, thedmonline.com.
You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
You cannot republish our editorial cartoons, photographs, illustrations or graphics without specific permission (contact our managing editor Michael Guidry for more information). To learn more about our cartoon syndication services, click here.
Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories.
You can’t sell or syndicate our stories.
You can only publish select stories individually — not as a collection.
Any website our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
If you have any other questions, contact the Student Media Center at Ole Miss.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Sports
  • Arts & Culture
  • Opinion
  • Special Projects
  • Print / e-Editions
  • About Us
    • Applications
    • Advertise
      • Advertise with Us
      • Classifieds
    • Contact
    • Editorial Board
    • Policies
    • Daily Mississippian Staff 2025-26

All Rights Reserved to S. Gale Denley Student Media Center 2019

-
00:00
00:00

Queue

Update Required Flash plugin
-
00:00
00:00