Mississippi Power flying proposed new state flag at General Office

Mississippi Power has started flying the proposed “In God We Trust” state flag at the General Office in Gulfport, lending corporate support to the new design that will be on the ballot in the Nov. 3 general election.

In June, the state Legislature voted to remove the flag that had flown over Mississippi since 1894 but contained the controversial Confederate battle emblem.

Mississippi Power CEO Anthony Wilson, in his role as chairman of the Mississippi Economic Council, helped rally the state’s business and industry leaders to support a flag change with the “It’s Time” campaign. Nearly 1,000 businesses and individuals joined the campaign in just over a week’s time.

The bill required the redesigned flag to have the words “In God We Trust” on it and formed a Flag Commission to pick a design to put before voters, reviewing thousands of options before settling on this flag.

If this design gets a simple majority of the vote, it will become the new state flag. If this design is voted down, the Flag Commission would choose another design during the 2021 legislative session to be presented to voters in a special election.

“Mississippi Power firmly believes an inclusive state flag will help change perceptions of our state around the nation and around the world,” said Wilson. “We also believe changing the flag will open the state up to economic and community development opportunities that were being denied to us because of the negative stereotypes associated with the previous state flag.”

The flag design on the ballot features the state flower magnolia surrounded by 20 stars, representing Mississippi’s place as the 20th state.

The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 3 election is Monday, Oct. 5.

Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), produces safe, reliable and environmentally responsible energy for nearly 190,000 customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties. With nearly 160 megawatts of approved solar energy capacity, Mississippi Power is the largest partner in providing renewable energy in the state of Mississippi. Visit our website at mississippipower.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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