Dixie Emblem May Be Dropped From Georgia State Flag

ATLANTA —  Hoping to skirt a racially charged debate over the Confederate flag symbol, Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue and Democrats agreed Friday to a proposed design for the Georgia flag that would eliminate the Dixie emblem.

The compromise flag -- approved by a key legislative committee -- adopts elements of a lesser-known banner of the Confederate government and drops the familiar battlefield emblem, a blue cross of St. Andrew on a red field.

The design, which must be passed by the state House of Representatives and Senate, would immediately replace the existing flag, but Georgia voters could still reject it at the polls next year.

Though its prospects remain uncertain, backers said the compromise resolves some of the tensions bubbling around the flag issue for months. While many whites see the Dixie emblem as a symbol of their Southern heritage, civil rights activists say its use by racist groups has made it an icon of hatred.

“It’s a good resolution,” said state Rep. Glenn Richardson, a Republican floor leader in the House.

The Confederate emblem occupied two-thirds of the state flag before former Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat, engineered an overnight change in 2001 that shrank it to near-oblivion, angering many white rural voters. Perdue capitalized on that ire in toppling Barnes by promising to let the voters have a say in the design of the state flag.

In February, Perdue proposed holding a referendum next year to allow voters to decide whether to retain the current flag, or to restore one of two earlier versions, including the rebel-flag design.

Perdue’s proposal met opposition from business leaders, who worry that restoring the Confederate battle symbol to its former prominence could hurt Georgia’s image and harm tourism and other trade.

Perdue said the compromise approved by the House rules committee Friday allows voters to make their feelings known by ballot. If passed, the flag design would be put to a vote March 2. Rejection would trigger a second referendum, in July, asking voters to choose between two options, including the flag with the dominant Confederate emblem.

“In the past, people have felt excluded from the process,” Perdue said in a statement after Friday’s vote. “This proposal will allow the people of Georgia to express their views on our state flag and moves us a step closer to finding a resolution to this important issue.”

But the newest proposal faces obstacles. It displeases those who want to make sure the Confederate battle emblem never appears on a ballot, while depriving heritage activists of their goal of reviving the former state flag. The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce said it was too soon to take a stance.

The proposed design is based on the First National Flag of the Confederacy, known as the Stars and Bars. A version flew over Georgia before 1956, when the banner with the rebel symbol was adopted. The proposed flag contains three broad stripes of red and white and a blue canton bearing the Georgia seal. The middle white stripe would carry the words “In God We Trust.”

Richardson said the proposal blends components of three alternatives. Rep. Bobby Franklin, a Republican, proposed the design after dropping his support for the rebel-flag version.