Mississippi dismisses giant mosquito flag re-design contender as a ‘typo’
Mississippi will not be putting a huge picture of a mosquito on its new state flag, officials have announced.
The state Department of Archives and history (MDAH) have said the eccentric design made it through to the second selection round by mistake.
The clarification comes after a public submitted nearly 3,000 designs for the new flag, which state lawmakers agreed to redesign in June.
The mosquito flag submission features a giant mosquito surrounded by a circle of stars.
However, officials have now confirmed that the design slipped through the selection process “due to a typo” and will not be part of the final election process.
“The mosquito flag advanced to Round Two due to a typo in a list of flag numbers submitted by one commissioner,” The state Department of Archives and history (MDAH) said in a statement Tuesday.
“That commissioner has requested that the flag be removed from the Round Two gallery, and MDAH staff has complied.”
The redesign aims to remove the Confederate battle flag from the state’s banner, retiring of a more than 100-year-old vestige of the Civil War, and an emblem that many have long considered racist.
The decision comes following renewed scrutiny and calls for the upheaval of Confederate monuments and symbols across the US in the wake of national civil unrest following the death of George Floyd.
A nine-member commission will recommend a replacement flag that, by legislative mandate, cannot include the Confederate symbol and must have the phrase, “In God We Trust.”
In the last round, the nine commissioners will choose the final five flags, which they will eventually narrow down to one design that will be recommended as a replacement flag. Many of the final contenders feature magnolias and stars.
The commissioners could accept one of the public submissions, combine elements from different designs or start from scratch and draw their own.
The new design will go to a vote on the November statewide ballot. If it does not win a majority in that election, the choice will roll over to ballots in 2021 with another redesign.
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