The award-winning, short documentary film, “A New Day in Mississippi” is scheduled to be shown on Tuesday, April 27 at Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center, 528 Bloom St.
The evening will start with red-carpet arrivals at 6:30 p.m. and the program will begin at 7 p.m. The evening will conclude with a conversation with grassroots leaders featured in the film, moderated by film director, Imara Canady.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba, Mississippi state representatives Zakiya Summers and De’Keither A. Stamps and former Jackson Mayor Tony Yarborough will be on hand. Also in attendance will be Danielle Holmes, national organizer for the Poor Peoples Campaign; Sharon Brown, founder of 1 Flag for All, and Canady. Numerous religious, civic, academic and other community leaders are expected to attend.
Produced by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the short documentary, features Mississippi-based community leaders chronicling the grassroots advocacy movement that helped to change history of Mississippi, with the ultimate removal of its former state flag that displayed a Confederate symbol. Filmed on location in Mississippi, immediately after the June 30, 2020 public announcement of the governor signing into law the bill that allowed for the removal of the former state flag, the 15-minute film continues to be showcased in film festivals across the country. It has been nominated for an award at the Las Vegas Black Film Festival and received the prestigious Hollywood Gold Award earlier this year.
The new state flag features a white magnolia blossom and the words "In God We Trust" on a red field with a gold-bordered blue pale. The design was chosen by the Commission to Redesign the Mississippi State Flag and was approved by state referendum on Nov. 3, 2020. The Legislature approved the flag on Jan. 6, 2021, and it became the official state flag of the of Mississippi on Jan. 11
The new design replaced the previous flag that displayed the Confederate battle insignia in the upper left hand corner, which was retired on June 30, 2020. Most recent advocacy efforts to remove the previous flag started in August 2015 when grassroots community leaders mobilized under the “1 Flag for All” campaign, and worked on a ballot initiative, supported by AIDS Healthcare Foundation, to bring the issue to the Mississippi voters. The ballot initiative, which failed, motivated the group to continue to build a grassroots swelling of support to keep the issue alive and to bring greater awareness to a broad base of Mississippians around the campaign. The campaign continued until the ultimate victory last year.
