A song written by a Mississippi native may be on its way to becoming the state anthem.
Jazz Singer, song writer Pam Confer says she was walking her dog when she started thinking about how Mississippians feel about the Magnolia State. The lyrics came to her step by step. It's called "Mississippi Beautiful. Confer sang it at the capitol yesterday.
"Who are we?
How do we claim this?
Who are we?
We're faces of joy and pain
For we know that we're more than just a name
Mississippi who are we?
I know we're beautiful, we're beautiful,
The more that we believe,
We're beautiful, we're beautiful
The more that we can see
We're beautiful, we're beautiful
The moment we believe."
Confer says Mississippians are loving and hospitable to visitors. But the pain of the state's slavery and Jim Crow past has cast a shadow over how people in some cases see each other. She wants the song to promote diversity and love.
"We know that there's love here but do we know how to show it. I'm not quite sure. So, I'm hoping that through this song Mississippi Beautiful, that we'll learn love is powerful and just the same way we learn hate, we can learn love," said Confer.
"Mississippi Beautiful" will play in one of the galleries at the state's new civil rights museum, which officially open this weekend along with the Museum of Mississippi History. Confer wants the song to become the state anthem. House Representative Debra Gibbs of Jackson, plans to introduce a bill in support of the effort.
"I'm so pleased and happy that Pam wrote that song of inspiration talking about the positive things of Mississippi, and you know we need that at this day and time," said Gibbs.
Confer says the song will be released on CD December 10, as part of the state's bicentennial celebration.
