Protesters, celebrities and civil rights leaders are gathering on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Flag Day, Tuesday June 14 to demand the removal of the Confederate battle emblem from Mississippi’s state flag.
Congressman Bennie Thompson will speak at the “Take It Down” rally. Also appearing at the rally will be Michael Eric Dyson and ABC’s “Quantico” actress, Aunjanue Ellis. A native of Mississippi Ellis, supports the efforts of attorney Carlos Moore who filed a lawsuit against Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant declaring that the flag’s iconography, which is similar to that of the Ku Klux Klan’s, violates the 14th Amendment’s protection of African American residents.
“The governor thinks this is a frivolous lawsuit but it’s time we make a change in Mississippi. All the other Southern states have seen the light but our state just doesn’t get it,” says Moore. “That flag is a symbol of hate, White supremacy and division in our country.”
Ellis, who appeared in the movies The Help and Ray will continue to refuse to film in the state until Mississippi until the current state flag is removed.
Other entertainers and activists who will be on hand to lend support include musician Genesis Be and community activist Duvalier Malone.
