Final State Flag Choices Created by Designers With Oxford, Ole Miss Ties

By Alyssa Schnugg
News editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

The designers of the final two choices for the new Mississippi state flag both have ties to Oxford and the state of Mississippi. The Commission to Redesign the Mississippi State Flag narrowed down the selections this week after receiving thousands of entries and will meet again on Sept. 2. to choose the final design.

Kara Giles, the executive assistant to Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill is the designer of “The New Magnolia” flag. An Oxford resident for more than 22 years, Giles was called in by the commission to consult on the new flag design.

“I worked on a lot of different designs, both tweaks to submitted flags and original designs, and was always drawn to Sue Anna Joe’s magnolia,” Giles said.

Joe’s submission was not the only design to feature a magnolia. Close to 3,000 other submissions also incorporated the Mississippi state flower. However, it was Joe’s magnolia that inspired Giles specifically. Joe is from the Mississippi Delta but currently lives in San Fransisco. She supplied her artwork to the commission so that it could be used collaboratively.

“I think it is a really solid design that is instantly recognizable as a magnolia but is also fresh, modern and sleek,” Giles said. “I made adjustments to it in the stamen, but otherwise kept her magnolia solely intact.”

Giles holds a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Rhodes College and a master’s degree in art education from the University of Mississippi. She owned a stationery store, Nest Paper Studio that used to be located on the Square; however, she now operates it as a home business. She is also a painter and a portrait artist.

The circle of 20 stars represents Mississippi as the 20th state of the United States of America. The color blue in the main field echoes the blue of the American flag – representing vigilance, justice and perseverance, while the bands of red represent hardiness and valor. The gold lines and the gold stamen of the new magnolia are a nod to the rich cultural history of Mississippi.

Seeing the flag prototype flying in Jackson via photographs made the reality that her design could be the next state flag hit home.

“Seeing it fly was something I could have never imagined happening, and I am so grateful to be a part of this process,” she said. “No matter the outcome, it is an honor for me to be involved. I’m really humbled by the support I’ve gotten.”

May the Best Flag Win

Each of the final designs contains a single star made of diamond shapes to represent the indigenous tribes and those who lived here long before Mississippi became a state.

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is putting the designs online so people can vote on their favorite. However, the commissioners will choose the final design that will go on the ballot in November.

If a majority of those voting in the November election accept the lone design, it will become the new state flag. If they reject it, the design process will begin again and another design will go on the ballot at a later date.

In late June, Mississippi legislators voted to retire the former state flag which included the Confederate battle emblem. One condition was made – that the words “In God We Trust” are on the new flag.

Great River Flag

Ole Miss graduate Micah Whitson designed the Great River flag.

Born and raised in the South, Whitson currently lives in Massachusetts. He attended Ole Miss during the “Eli years,” from 1999-2003, graduating with a degree in business and marketing.

Whitson said he wanted to design a flag that looked like it could have been the original Mississippi state flag – one that could have been designed in 1817 but is still relevant today.

The design features a shield based on the 1798 seal of Mississippi Territory below a five-point star on a blue banner. There are 20 marks on the shield: eighteen vertical lines in red representing the three nations that occupied the Mississippi Territory (Spain, France and Great Britain), and two white river waves representing the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. “In God, We Trust” is written in a typeface that would have been used when Mississippi became a state in 1817. The colors are red, white and blue.

“I’ve been keeping up with the flag process at large because I just care about Mississippi,” he said. “I went to school there and it formed a part of my identity and my process of learning what it means to be a Southerner.”

The owner of Old Try, a Southern printing company, Whitson said he knew he wanted to take a stab at creating the new state flag when he heard the state would be accepting submissions.

“Having gone to Ole Miss, I’m trying to represent something that is true and honest and complex but also celebrates Mississippi and things it has to offer,” he said. “And we can boast a little bit now..we can lead as a state to show this process in which we’re proud of and come out of the other side to be able to focus on other issues in Mississippi.”