In response to student pressure to disassociate from the Confederate symbol, the University of Mississippi — also known as Ole Miss — became the latest institution to remove the state flag from its grounds.
The flag came down at the Oxford campus on Monday morning, days after an NAACP-sponsored student demonstration and the passing of a student government resolution to take it down. While the school has never used the symbol in an official capacity, the flag is deeply ingrained in the campus’ culture. The school mascot is now the Rebel Black Bear, but it was previously an antebellum man named Colonel Reb, who looked like a plantation owner. To this day, students show their school pride by waving the flag at sporting events.
The push to remove the Confederate flag and symbol was re-energized in the wake of the Charleston church massacre by a white supremacist. But in the past few years, the university has tried to distance itself from its racist heritage. In 2014, the school renamed one of its streets from Confederate Drive to Chapel Lane.
“As Mississippi’s flagship university, we have a deep love and respect for our state,” Interim Chancellor Morris Stocks said. “Because the flag remains Mississippi’s official banner, this was a hard decision. I understand the flag represents tradition and honor to some. But to others, the flag means that some members of the Ole Miss family are not welcomed or valued.”
As the school tries to distance itself from its offensive roots, students believe the university’s nickname is also problematic.
“Historically, the term ‘Ole Miss’ is a term that slaves used to refer to the mistresses and — or matriarchs of their plantations,” one student told Democracy Now, ahead of the student government vote last week. “And so, when the school decided — was deciding on what they would nickname this school, one woman was quoted saying that ‘Ole Miss’ was what old ‘darkies’ used to refer to the mistress of their plantations as. And when the vote was passed to use the term ‘Ole Miss,’ the runner-up was ‘Ole Massa.’”
The university has also drawn criticism for racist acts on campus. Last year, a fraternity hung a noose around a statue of James Meredith, the first black student to attend the school. Students threw alcohol on a black student and called her a “black nigger.” Three years ago, 400 students rioted in response to Obama’s reelection.
Mississippi lawmakers introduced legislation to remove the Confederate symbol from the state flag, shortly after South Carolina removed their Confederate flag from the state house. The legislature has been slow to act on the bill, with some lawmakers worrying about their reelection prospects. However, some cities and counties have removed their flags.