STATEMENT ON MISSISSIPPI’S VOTE TO KEEP CONFEDERATE SYMBOL IN ITS STATE FLAG

BY NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE PRESIDENT HUGH B. PRICE

New York, NY, April 11, 2001–National Urban League president Hugh B. Price today issued the following statement regarding Mississippi’s vote to retain the confederate emblem on the state’s flag.

"We regret the outcome of the vote by citizens of the state of Mississippi to keep the confederate emblem in the state flag.

We hope that, despite the spilt in the vote, Mississippi’s citizens can move on to heal any rifts that may exist and that a spirit of inclusiveness will prevail."

In July of 1999, the League decided to pull its annual Southern Regional Assembly from Charleston, SC in response to state lawmakers’ refusal to remove the Confederate battle flag from that state’s Capitol dome. Price at that time stated, "For many (of South Carolina’s citizens), the Confederate flag represents a shameful saga in our nation’s history and is a symbol of racial divisiveness."

Hugh B. Price is President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Urban League. He was appointed on July 1, 1994. The Urban League is the nation’s oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream.

The National Urban League, headquartered in New York City, spearheads the nonprofit, nonpartisan movement, while Urban League affiliates operate in more than 100 cities in 34 states and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit the League’s Web site at www.nul.org.