JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Magnolias and stars. Beer cans, crawfish and guitars. A Gulf Coast lighthouse. Elvis Presley and Kermit the Frog. All appear on proposals submitted by the general public for a new Mississippi flag. Mississippi recently retired the last state banner with the Confederate battle emblem that’s widely condemned as racist. A commission will design a replacement that cannot include the Confederate symbol and must have the phrase, “In God We Trust.” The public submitted nearly 2,700 proposals. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History posted those to its website Monday. By early September, commissioners will choose a single design to put on the Nov. 3 statewide ballot.
