The committee to design a State Flag was appointed by legislative action February 7, 1894, and provided that the flag reported by the committee should become the official flag. The committee recommended for the flag "one with width two-thirds of its length; with the union square, in width two-thirds of the width of the flag; the ground of the union to be red and a broad blue saltier thereon, bordered with white and emblazoned with thirteen (13) mullets

Population, 2006 estimate 2,910,540, White persons 61.2%, Black persons 36.9%, American Indian and Alaska Native persons 0.4%, Asian persons 0.7%, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.1%, Persons reporting two or more races 0.6%, Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin 1.7%.