Is this the new Mississippi flag? Magnolia design will be put to public vote after state ditched their old flag because it included Confederate battle emblem

Mississippi has unveiled a new state flag design that will be put to a public vote in November, after the old banner was retired because it included the Confederate battle emblem.
The new flag features a magnolia flower, and was the result of a two-month challenge to find a replacement, which saw 3,000 suggestions submitted by the public.
The old flag was officially retired on June 30. 
The magnolia design was chosen by the Mississippi State Flag Commission on Wednesday
The magnolia design was chosen by the Mississippi State Flag Commission on Wednesday
The flag flew above the Old State Capitol Museum in Jackson on Wednesday
The flag flew above the Old State Capitol Museum in Jackson on Wednesday 
The commission - with members appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker - narrowed the choices to the final two last week.  
On Wednesday, a commission voted 8-1 to recommend the magnolia design, over one other final design that featured a shield with wavy lines representing water.

'We'll send a message that we live in the future and not in the past,' said Reuben Anderson, a former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice and the flag commission chairman, after the vote.
Reuben Anderson, chairman of the Mississippi State Flag Commission, said the new flag will 'send a message that we live in the future and not in the past'
Reuben Anderson, chairman of the Mississippi State Flag Commission, said the new flag will 'send a message that we live in the future and not in the past'
The single design will go on the November ballot. 
If voters accept the design, it will become the new state flag. 
If they reject it, the design process will start anew - and Mississippi will remain a state without a flag for a while longer.
The commission decided Wednesday that leading to the November election, it will promote the magnolia flag by calling it the 'In God We Trust' flag.
'More than any other time in our country, we need the mercy and grace of God,' said commission member TJ Taylor, who is an attorney and policy director for the state House speaker.
After the meeting on Wednesday, the magnolia flag was raised on a pole outside the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, where it fluttered in a brisk breeze.
Later in the day, Governor Tate Reeves, a Republican, praised the magnolia design.
'I think they did a good job,' Reeves said. 'It's, I think, a well-done flag.'
Voters in November will either approve the design, or send them back to the drawing board
Voters in November will either approve the design, or send them back to the drawing board 
An alternative flag, the 'Great River Flag,' was on the final shortlist for the committee
 An alternative flag, the 'Great River Flag,' was on the final shortlist for the committee
Anderson and fellow committee members voted on the new design on Wednesday
Anderson and fellow committee members voted on the new design on Wednesday
The nine-member committee is pictured on Wednesday after their historic vote
The nine-member committee is pictured on Wednesday after their historic vote 
Legislators shelved the Confederate-themed flag two months ago against the backdrop of widespread protests over racial injustice. 
The flag had been divisive for decades in a state where 38 per cent of the  population identify as black, versus 12.7 per cent nationwide
The final push for change came from business, education, religious and sports groups - including, notably, the Mississippi Baptist Convention and the Southeastern Conference.
By law, the new flag cannot include the Confederate battle flag, and it must have the phrase, 'In God We Trust.' 
Requiring the religious phrase on the new flag helped persuade some conservative legislators to retire the old one. 
Creators of the final designs said their work reflects a love for Mississippi and a desire for a banner that a wide range of people can fly with pride.
The magnolia flag has the state flower on a dark blue background with red bars on either end. 
The flower is encircled by stars representing Mississippi as the 20th state. 
It also has a single star made of diamond shapes representing the Native American people who lived on the land before others arrived.
The magnolia flag is a combination of elements submitted by six people. Four live in Mississippi, and the others live in San Francisco and Massachusetts.
Graphic designer Rocky Vaughan of Ackerman, Mississippi, created the overall design of the magnolia flag, which was altered with work from others. 
Rocky Vaughan, 43, designed the new state flag, combining elements of other designs
Rocky Vaughan, 43, designed the new state flag, combining elements of other designs
Members of the public submitted 3,000 suggestions for the design of the new flag
Members of the public submitted 3,000 suggestions for the design of the new flag 
Moment former Mississippi flag is lowered at State Capitol
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He said Tuesday that he started working on designs years ago, when Mississippi residents were bickering about the flag with the Confederate image.
'What I wanted to do was show every Mississippian that there´s a compromise out there, and we are the magnolia state,' said Vaughan, 43. 
'If it's appealing to the eyes, it will be accepted.'
The magnolia on that flag came from Sue Anna Joe, a Greenwood native living in San Francisco. 
Her parents were born in China, and they moved to the United States in the 1960s. 
Sue Anna Joe, a Greenwood native living in San Francisco, submitted the magnolia design that became part of the flag
Sue Anna Joe, a Greenwood native living in San Francisco, submitted the magnolia design that became part of the flag
Joe, 44, said Tuesday that as a person of Chinese background growing up in Mississippi, she felt 'disassociated' with the flag the state had used since 1894. 
She heard white people say the Confederate symbol represented their ancestors and African Americans say it represented slavery.
'I felt like I was part of a broken family,' she said.
Joe said she watched online as Mississippi legislators voted to retire the old flag. 
Because she has worked in design, she felt it was her civic duty to submit a proposal. 
She chose a magnolia because she believes the flower is an easily recognizable symbol of Mississippi.
'I still very much love my home state,' Joe said.
Kara Giles of Oxford also worked on the magnolia flag. 
Giles is a graphic designer and executive assistant to Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill, who is one of the nine flag commissioners. 
Giles tweaked the design to strengthen some elements of it.
The alternative to the magnolia flag, which was rejected on Wednesday, had a red-and-white shield on a dark blue background and a single star made of diamond shapes. 
The banner, nicknamed the 'Great River Flag,' is by graphic designer Micah Whitson, who grew up in Alabama, graduated from the University of Mississippi and now lives in Boston. 
The commission on Wednesday rejected his design, but gave the 39-year-old credit for helping design the magnolia flag.
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