Chamber of Commerce Says Mississippi Flag is Hurting the State’s Business and Economic Development
Could our state flag be prohibiting business and economic growth along the Coast? That’s what the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce is saying.
News 25’s Shelby Myers spoke to their CEO and has details.
July 10th, South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from public grounds, a monumental day in history. Now, all eyes are on Mississippi, whose state flag bears the Confederate emblem in the left hand corner and is the only state in the nation that continues to fly it freely.
Kimberly Nastasi, Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce CEO, said, “It’s insulting and offensive to certain people and we as a state and as a business community want to be inviting to everyone. We want people to do business with our state. We want to compete on a global economy.”
Nearly every day it seems a new state official takes a stance on whether or not the flag should be changed and now the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce is saying to change it for the sake of business and tourism. "It can impede people’s decisions to do business here. It can also impede tourists to do business here. People want to come to a community that’s inviting,” said Nastasi.
Nastasi says corporate America is sending out the right dialogue that Mississippi is not. Now that corporations like EBay, Amazon, Sears and Wal-Mart are no longer selling Confederate flag merchandise, Representative Sonya Barnes is asking for local Gulf Coast businesses to do the same. “I also encourage our local businesses that are already here in our state to take a stand on the flag because it does represent something that is not welcoming to all people,” said Barnes.
But officials like Governor Phil Bryant says the people have already spoken and the flag is not an issue. “It was on the ballot and I think across the state of Mississippi, a fairly strong vote to keep it.”
News 25’s Shelby Myers spoke to their CEO and has details.
July 10th, South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from public grounds, a monumental day in history. Now, all eyes are on Mississippi, whose state flag bears the Confederate emblem in the left hand corner and is the only state in the nation that continues to fly it freely.
Kimberly Nastasi, Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce CEO, said, “It’s insulting and offensive to certain people and we as a state and as a business community want to be inviting to everyone. We want people to do business with our state. We want to compete on a global economy.”
Nearly every day it seems a new state official takes a stance on whether or not the flag should be changed and now the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce is saying to change it for the sake of business and tourism. "It can impede people’s decisions to do business here. It can also impede tourists to do business here. People want to come to a community that’s inviting,” said Nastasi.
Nastasi says corporate America is sending out the right dialogue that Mississippi is not. Now that corporations like EBay, Amazon, Sears and Wal-Mart are no longer selling Confederate flag merchandise, Representative Sonya Barnes is asking for local Gulf Coast businesses to do the same. “I also encourage our local businesses that are already here in our state to take a stand on the flag because it does represent something that is not welcoming to all people,” said Barnes.
But officials like Governor Phil Bryant says the people have already spoken and the flag is not an issue. “It was on the ballot and I think across the state of Mississippi, a fairly strong vote to keep it.”
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