Confederate Emblem Causes Unequal Treatment, Attorneys Argue
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Attorneys say in written arguments to the U.S. Supreme Court that the Confederate battle emblem on the Mississippi flag is "an official endorsement of white supremacy" and lower courts were wrong to block a lawsuit challenging the flag.
The arguments were made in papers filed Friday by lawyers for Carlos Moore, an African-American attorney who sued the state in 2016 seeking to have the flag declared an unconstitutional relic of slavery.
Mississippi has used the same flag since 1894 and it has the last state banner featuring the Confederate symbol—red field topped by a blue tilted cross dotted by 13 white stars. Critics say the symbol is racist. Supporters say it represents history.
"Mississippi adopted its flag at the same time it vigorously reasserted white control of the state, the flag was intended to be an official endorsement of white supremacy, and by continuing to fly it, Mississippi broadcasts that message on daily basis," Moore's attorneys wrote. "It is the equivalent of the state adopting 'White Supremacy Forever' as its state motto."
Read more: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2017/oct/30/confederate-emblem-causes-unequal-treatment-attorn/