Country music star Faith Hill urged the Mississippi state legislature to change the state’s flag.
Hill took to Twitter on Thursday to share her views on the flag. The current state flag of Mississippi features a confederate emblem.
To the Mississippi legislature: It’s time to change the state flag.
I am a proud MS girl and I love my home state. When I think of Mississippi, I think of my mom and dad, the church I grew up in, high school football, and where I fell in love with music.
— Faith Hill (@FaithHill) June 25, 2020
“To the Mississippi legislature: It’s time to change the state flag,” Hill tweeted. “I am a proud MS girl and I love my home state. When I think of Mississippi, I think of my mom and dad, the church I grew up in, high school football, and where I fell in love with music.”
“Now, it is time for the world to meet the Mississippi of today and not the Mississippi of 1894 (when the MS legislature voted on the current flag),” she added. “I understand many view the current flag as a symbol of heritage and Southern pride, but we have to realize that this flag is a direct symbol of terror for our black brothers and sisters.” (RELATED: Mississippi Working On Legislation To Remove Confederate Emblem From State Flag)
Hill acknowledged that many people see the confederate emblem as a symbol of “Southern pride.”
“I understand many view the current flag as a symbol of heritage and Southern pride, but we have to realize that this flag is a direct symbol of terror for our black brothers and sisters,” she continued.
The state flag of Mississippi, which incorporates the flag of the Confederate States of America in the top left corner, is displayed with the flags of the other 49 states and territories in the tunnel connecting the senate office building and the U.S. Capitol June 23, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Hill isn’t the only celebrity to ask for the removal of the confederate symbol from the state’s flag. Morgan Freeman, quarterback Archie Manning, author John Grisham and musician Jimmy Buffet all signed a letter back in 2015 urging the state to change the flag, Fox News reported at the time.
“It is simply not fair, or honorable, to ask black Mississippians to attend schools, compete in athletic events, work in the public sector, serve in the National Guard, and go about their normal lives with a state flag that glorifies a war fought to keep their ancestors enslaved,” the letter said. “It’s time for Mississippi to fly a flag for all its people.”