Mississippi Flag

The flag of Mississippi, officially known as the In God We Trust flag, is a distinctive banner featuring a central magnolia blossom on a dark blue field. The design is encircled by a ring of 20 white stars and a single gold five-pointed star at the top, all set against a vertical red, gold, and blue triband on the fly. This flag replaced the previous state flag, which had incorporated the Confederate battle emblem, following a legislative process and public referendum.

The flag's layout is unique among U.S. state flags, combining a canton-like central emblem with a vertical tricolor field. The dominant colors are navy blue, red, and gold, with white and dark green accents. Its design was selected through a public commission process, aiming to create a unifying symbol that reflects the state's heritage and future.

The central magnolia blossom is the state flower and symbolizes Mississippi's nickname, The Magnolia State. The circle of 20 white stars represents Mississippi's status as the 20th state admitted to the Union, while the solitary gold star at the top honors the Native American tribes of the region, specifically the Choctaw, whose culture prominently features the color gold.

The red vertical stripe signifies valor, the gold stripe represents justice and the state's cultural wealth, and the blue stripe stands for vigilance and perseverance. The phrase In God We Trust, the official state motto of Mississippi, is inscribed in gold capital letters on the red stripe, affirming a widely held state value.

The current flag was adopted on January 11, 2021, after the legislature passed the Mississippi Flag Redesign Act in June 2020. This act was a direct response to the national movement to remove Confederate symbols from public spaces and established a commission to design a new flag that could not include the Confederate battle emblem and must incorporate the words In God We Trust.

The commission selected the final design, known as The New Magnolia, from over 3,000 public submissions. The design was then approved by voters in a November 3, 2020 referendum, with Governor Tate Reeves signing the legislation to make it official the following January, replacing the 1894 flag.