The city has announced its intent to remove the current Mississippi state flag from any municipal property until a new flag is approved… whenever that might be.
Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton said, “I am very proud of the actions from the Tupelo City Council. This has been an ongoing issue for years and I am glad that the city of Tupelo is taking the lead and doing what needs to be done.”
Tupelo’s city council consists of 7 members, 5 of which are Republican and 4 of those have agreed with the 2 Democrats to request that an order be drafted to remove the state flag from all locations where it currently is flying and replace it with the City of Tupelo flag.
With the current plan, the state flag will be placed on display at the Oren Dunn Museum at Ballard Park.
“I would love to see more cities and counties take action toward getting a new flag in the State of Mississippi,” Shelton said.
Within the last week, a push for a new state flag has grown tremendously, not only in Tupelo but across the state. There have been business leaders, college coaches, athletes, and political figures from both sides all giving their statements to push for a change.
“It’s long past time for a new flag in the state of Mississippi that represents all Mississippians,” Shelton stated. “I’m proud to see Tupelo taking the lead and making a bold statement regarding the flag of the state of Mississippi.”
City attorney Ben Logan is drafting a revision to the current city ordinance that requires the state flag to be flown at certain locations.
Those revisions will be discussed at the next council meeting which is scheduled for July 7th, 2020.
