A national televised debate
Before the 2001 statewide referendum, I traveled to Washington and appeared on MSNBC to defend Southern heritage and the Confederate battle flag before a national audience.
Watch the debateA First-Person Record
Jimmy Giles and the Defense of Mississippi's Historic State Flag
Public advocacy, national debate, litigation, peaceful demonstration and an enduring refusal to abandon the flag Mississippi voters chose.
I know of no Mississippian who has done more than I have to defend Mississippi's historic 1894 state flag. I do not believe there is a close second.
I say that as a statement about my own public record—not to diminish anyone else who has acted from conviction. And my efforts pale beside those Mississippians who gave their lives defending their homes and families from invading Union forces during the War Between the States.
The Record
More than words
My defense of the flag has taken many forms over many years. The linked records below document major parts of that work.
The SCV trademark lawsuit
The Sons of Confederate Veterans sued over an emblem containing the Confederate battle flag. I represented myself through a jury trial and later appeals.
Read the case historyThe Ole Miss stick-flag challenge
I challenged restrictions involving small Confederate flags at Ole Miss and carried that First Amendment fight into federal court.
View the article and videoOne Million Flags
I continue the work today by calling on Mississippians to display the historic flag in homes, businesses and digital spaces across the state.
Join the campaignMy Recollection
The day Malcolm McMillin stopped beside Interstate 55
I once stood beside Interstate 55 in Jackson, near the High Street exit, holding Mississippi's historic state flag on a pole. Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin pulled over. It appeared that he was preparing to tell me to leave the interstate. When he recognized me, however, he returned to his vehicle and drove away.
To me, that brief encounter captured something important: my public defense of the flag was not occasional or anonymous. People knew who I was and why I was there.
Source note: This incident is presented as Jimmy Giles's personal recollection. Malcolm McMillin was sworn in as Hinds County sheriff in 1992 and served five terms.
Why I Continue
The issue is the sovereignty of the people.
In 2001, Mississippi voters chose the historic flag. In 2020, politicians removed it before voters were consulted and barred it from the replacement process. I contend that this refusal to honor the people's decision violated the principle stated in Section 5 of the Mississippi Constitution: political power is vested in the people, and legitimate government is founded upon their will.
The politicians may remove the flag from the statute books, but they cannot erase the people's vote, command our memories or end our peaceful public defense of the flag.
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