Georgia Lawmakers Vote to Change State’s Flag

The Georgia Legislature voted Friday to change the state flag to a version that echoes the Confederate battle emblem, but without the familiar Dixie cross that had led civil rights leaders to threaten an economic boycott.

Lawmakers also agreed to quash any possibility of a referendum on reviving the Confederate battle emblem, which black lawmakers called a symbol of oppression.

If the measure is signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue, Georgia voters next March will choose between the temporary flag and the current Georgia flag, which was changed in 2001 to remove the Confederate battle cross.

Black lawmakers cheered and some wept after the bill passed. The Senate voted 33 to 23 and the House approved the measure 91 to 86, with the speaker casting the deciding vote. Ninety-one votes were the simple majority needed for passage in the lower body.

“This gives the people a flag based on history, but yet looking to the future,” said Democratic Sen. George Hooks, a white Democrat who helped design the temporary banner.

The temporary flag features the state’s coat of arms and the words “In God We Trust” on a blue corner in the top left, with three red-and-white stripes to the right. It is based on the Confederate national flag, but doesn’t have the familiar battle emblem.

Black lawmakers objected not to the Confederate roots of the temporary flag, but to the possibility of bringing back the Dixie battle cross, which was first added to Georgia’s flag in 1956 when an all-white Legislature was resisting integration.

The flag was changed in 2001 to shrink the Confederate symbol partly to avoid boycotts like the one targeting South Carolina, which flies the Rebel banner on state Capitol grounds.

Southern heritage advocates, who had pushed for the statewide referendum on the Confederate battle emblem flag, called the temporary flag a betrayal.

“We’ll be making our displeasure known in short order,” said Rusty Henderson of the Heritage Preservation Assn.

Perdue, a Republican, had called for a referendum on the temporary flag. If that flag had been rejected by voters, the state’s citizens would then have voted on the Confederate battle emblem flag. The legislation approved Friday barred this vote.

The bill’s sponsor, GOP Rep. Glenn Richardson, indicated the governor likely would be willing to sign the measure.

Civil rights leaders had denounced Perdue’s initial plan and promised an economic boycott if the bill was not changed to remove any chance that the Confederate emblem might be approved by referendum.