A magnolia flower encircled by 20 stars on a navy blue field, framed by gold bars and red bars at hoist and fly.
The design
The Flag of usa-state/mississippi/" data-it-autolink="1">Mississippi is a national emblem rendered in the colours and proportions defined by the country’s flag law. Its official aspect ratio is 3:5, the height-to-length ratio that fixes how the flag should be cut and flown. The colour scheme uses red, white, gold, blue, with each shade specified to particular Pantone or RGB values for official reproduction.
Colour palette
| Colour | Name | Common symbolism |
|---|---|---|
| Red | red | Often signifies courage, sacrifice, revolution or the blood of those who fought for the nation. |
| White | white | Commonly represents peace, purity, honesty or snow-capped landscapes. |
| Gold | gold | Stands in for sunlight, mineral wealth or sovereign authority. |
| Blue | blue | Frequently symbolises sky, sea, freedom, vigilance or perseverance. |
Symbolism & heraldry
The magnolia is the state flower and tree. The 20 surrounding stars include 19 white five-pointed stars (Mississippi as the 20th state) and one larger gold star representing the indigenous Native American tribes. The phrase "In God We Trust" appears beneath.
Heraldic elements on the Flag of Mississippi — bands, charges, emblems or stars — each carry meaning agreed at the moment of the flag’s adoption. Re-readings happen across generations: a colour or a symbol that began with one meaning often picks up further layers as the country’s history unfolds.
Adoption & history
The current flag was adopted in 2021. It is credited to Rocky Vaughan. Earlier banners flown by Flag of Mississippi reflected the politics of their day; each redesign typically marked a moment of independence, regime change or constitutional reform. The current flag was chosen, debated and codified through the country’s official channels and is now protected by flag law.
Etiquette & protocol
The Flag of Mississippi should be flown with respect: never allowed to touch the ground, never used as drapery for ceremonies it was not made for, and lowered or removed at sundown unless illuminated. When flown alongside other national flags, it takes precedence on home soil and is hoisted first and lowered last. On days of national mourning, the flag is flown at half-mast in line with directives from the head of state. These conventions are common to most nations and are usually written into the flag’s founding statute.
Specifications
| Field | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Flag of Mississippi | — |
| Continent | North America | — |
| ISO alpha-2 | 2-letter code | |
| ISO alpha-3 | 3-letter code | |
| Adopted | 2021 | year of current design |
| Proportion | 3:5 | height : length |
| Colours | red, white, gold, blue | — |
| Designer | Rocky Vaughan | — |
| Emoji | Unicode codepoint sequence |
Did you know?
Adopted on 11 January 2021, replacing the previous flag (in use 1894–2020) which prominently featured the Confederate battle emblem — Mississippi was the last state to remove that imagery.
