Vicksburg’s State Rep. Oscar Denton, D-District 55, is perhaps one of a number in the Mississippi legislature who has filed a bill to change the design of the state flag.

In his bill, Denton said he proposed a new design for the state flag, one sent him by Collins resident Elliott Brown.

Brown, who came to Mississippi to go to graduate school at the University of Southern Mississippi in 1998, was surprised this weekend to learn Denton used his basic design in his proposed legislation.

“I had no idea someone had used it,” Brown said. “I sent it to everybody — every representative, every senator, the governor, the lieutenant governor, everybody I could find on the capitol website.”

He said he got two or three positive emails back from those he sent out, but nothing more.

“My reason behind doing this flag is that I love this state. I’m very proud of it. I want my daughter to be proud of it, too.”

Brown earned his master’s degree in counseling and psychology from USM and has worked as a counselor with the U.S. military, counseling soldiers and their families since his graduation in 2001.

He and his wife, Rebecca, live in Collins, which is about 30 miles north of Hattiesburg, with their daughter, Sophia, 7. “My wife’s family is here,” Brown said.

He is a native of the small town of Chattahoochee in the Florida panhandle.

“I could have left and gone back to Florida, but there was something I loved about Mississippi and I decided to stay. And, I wanted to find a way to pay Mississippi back the money it invested in me. I went to graduate school at USM on a scholarship.”

He said his flag design was an evolution.

“I thought we need to move to a different design and I asked myself, ‘what’s symbolic of Mississippi?’ The magnolia is, of course. The old state flag — the one used before 1890 — had a magnolia tree on it, but you could hardly see the magnolias. I wanted to use the blossom. The magnolia blossom is iconic. I thought it should be the center of the new flag.

“I thought the flag should have some stars on it, so I thought about how many and what kind. Mississippi was the 20th state admitted to the union, so I put 20 stars in a circle centered around the magnolia blossom,” Brown said.

“And I wanted it to be a mixture of old and new, so I thought we should keep the three bars — red, white and blue.”

He said he added 1817, the date Mississippi was added to the union, to “give it a little history. This flag has something from the past and something new, too.”

Denton removed the date 1817 in the flag he submitted with his legislation proposing to change the state flag. He said he removed the date of Mississippi’s original entry to the union to “eliminate the past from the present and start a new day. I don’t want folks looking back. I just want us looking forward.”

Denton said he’s been getting a lot of support for his proposed legislation to change the flag.

“I’ve been getting support from both blacks and whites. Both races have been calling me saying it needs to be done. It’s just a divisive issue.”

Brown said he is passionate about changing the design of the state flag because he said flag should be something that represents every Mississippian and something of which every Mississippi can be proud.

“When I first came here, I didn’t know what the flag looked like. When I saw it, and learned about some of the bad stuff that happened, from the aspect of a newcomer, I was really surprised,” he said. “I don’t think (the current state flag) represents everyone’s interests. I just don’t think it represents everyone in the state.

“My great-great-grandfather fought in the Confederacy and I, like many southerners, am proud of my southern heritage. But to move forward and to present a good image especially to those outside Mississippi, I think we can do better with a symbol that represents unity and our position as a member of the United States, which I’m most proud of. And we do need the cooperation of those outside Mississippi. We need their business.”

Brown said he understands the controversy surrounding any suggestion to change the design of the Mississippi state flag.

“I’m passionate about our state thriving and improving. I love my state and I’m proud of my state and I want it to move forward in a unified way, one that my daughter will be proud of, too. It is important that we recognize how others view our flag, not just ourselves. We need everyone’s cooperation to make this a better place,” he said.

“I want to convey a message that is positive about moving people together. I don’t want to be the hated one, but I want to emphasize that I’m proud of our state, proud of our country and want our flag to be something that everyone can be proud of.”