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Mississippi House makes historic vote to remove the state flag with its Confederate emblem

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by MPB News • Published on • Comments
The House tally board shows how state lawmakers voted
AP Photos
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Mississippi Legislators have taken the first step towards removing and replacing the state’s flag with its confederate battle emblem. By a vote of 85 to 34, the House passed House Resolution 79. Energetic applause rang out in the chamber gallery after the measure passed.

Immediate release was requested and now the measure heads to the Senate. The symbol has come under criticism amid nationwide protests against racial injustice.

Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Saturday, for the first time, that he would sign a bill to change the flag if the Legislature passes one. He had previously said that he

would not veto one — a more passive stance. “The legislature has been deadlocked for days as it considers a new state flag,” Reeves said on social media. “The argument over the 1894 flag has become as divisive as the flag itself and it's time to end it. If they send me a bill this weekend, I will sign it.""

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Mississippi has the last state flag that includes the Confederate battle emblem — a red field topped by a blue X with 13 white stars.
AP Photos

The battle emblem has been in the upper-left corner of the Mississippi flag since 1894. White supremacists in the Legislature put it there during backlash to the political power that African Americans gained after the Civil War.

The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that the flag lacked official status. State laws were updated in 1906, and portions dealing with the flag were not carried forward. Legislators set a flag election in 2001, and voters kept the rebel- themed design.

But the flag has remained divisive in a state with a 38% Black population. All of the state’s public universities and several cities and counties have stopped flying it because of the Confederate symbol that many see as racist. Influential business, religious, education and sports groups are calling on Mississippi to drop the Confederate symbol. Flag supporters say the banner should be left alone or put on the statewide ballot for voters to decide its fate.

Emily Wagster Pettus

Associated Press