They fear that if the decision is left up to the public, the Confederate battle flag — sometimes called the "Southern Cross" — will once again be on Georgia's flag, as it was from 1956 until 2001.

The Georgia Senate, exhorted by the governor to "seek the salve of reconciliation," voted 34-22 on Tuesday to reduce the Confederate fighting banner on the state flag to a miniature symbol.. The ...

Instead, the Legislature approved a new Georgia flag, a modified version of the Stars-and-Bars state flag that flew before 1956. That flag, which still waves today, has its own Confederate roots.

Stacey Abrams was part of a flag-burning protest while a freshman at Spelman College, at a time when the Confederate emblem occupied a significant chunk of Georgia's flag.

Georgia mostly resolved its confederate battle flag issues when the state changed the state flag in 2001. But the issue still brews in some circles -- with lines as brightly drawn as ever.

The lingering power of the Confederate flag in Georgia was seen in 2001 with the defeat of former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes. Barnes led a campaign to help change the state flag, ...

A rundown of the flag debate requires a brief refresher in Georgia history. The Confederate battle emblem stamped on Georgia’s flag doesn’t date to the Civil War era, but to February 1956.

Georgia voters will still get a referendum next year — to pick between the new three-stripe flag and the 2001 flag. Few give the 2001 flag any chance to win.

Georgia Unfurls New Flag. Voters Get Their Say Next March. By Associated Press. May 8, 2003 at 8:00 p.m. EDT. ATLANTA, May 8 -- A new state flag without the Confederate emblem was raised over the ...