Country superstar Faith Hill has called on her home state of Mississippi to change its flag, tweeting out an impassioned plea against the “Rebel Battle Flag” on Thursday (June 25).
Joining public figures like former Governor Phil Bryant, football coaches, church leaders and more, plus 55 percent of the state’s population, Hill said the flag’s inclusion of the controversial Confederate symbol is indefensible. The state itself last voted to keep the flag in 2001, and now calls for the state legislature to take the issue up are intensifying.
“To the Mississippi legislature: It’s time to change the state flag,” Hill wrote. “I am a proud [Mississippi] 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 went on. “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.”
Hill ended her thought by urging lawmakers to vote on the issue today (June 26), calling for “ONE NEW FLAG, one that represents ALL of the citizens of Mississippi.”
As it turns out, Hill is not the only country singing Mississippi native making the request, as singer-songwriter Charlie Worsham has also gone public with a petition made by descendants of Confederate veterans to change the flag once and for all.
Attempts by country artists to confront racial injustice and insensitivity continue genre-wide, with acts like the former Lady Antebellum and Dixie Chicks even going so far as to officially change their names.
