Mississippi lawmakers could vote in the coming days to remove the emblem of the Confederate battle from the state flag, a symbol that has come under intense criticism in recent weeks amid protests across the country against racial injustice. Republican Governor Tate Reeves said Saturday that he would sign a bill to change the flag if the Legislature passes one. He had previously taken a more passive stance and said he would not veto one.
“The legislature has been stagnant for days because it considers a new state flag,” Reeves said on social media. “The discussion on the 1894 flag has become as divisive as the flag itself and it is time to end it. If you send me a bill this weekend, I will sign it.”
Mississippi’s annual legislative session is almost over, and it takes a two-thirds majority of the House and Senate to consider a bill after normal deadlines have passed. Leaders have been working to secure those majorities.
There is a two-step process. First, legislators must suspend the deadline with two-thirds majorities. Then, they must vote separately on a flag bill, with only a simple majority needed to pass it and send it to the governor. The process could occur in a single day, or it could span two or more days.
The House and Senate voted Saturday to suspend the rules.
People for and against the current flag gathered at the State Capitol on Saturday morning when lawmakers arrived.
Karen Holt of Edwards, Mississippi, was with several people asking lawmakers to adopt a new banner with a magnolia, which is both the state tree and the state flower, and with stars to represent Mississippi as the twentieth state. She said it would represent the “joy of being a citizen of the United States,” as opposed to the current flag.
“We don’t want anything to fly over, elevated, exalted, to cling to a deadly past,” Holt said.
Dan Hartness of Ellisville, Mississippi walked out of the Capitol with a pole that had both the American flag and the current flag of Mississippi. He said the current state flag pays tribute to those who fought in the Civil War.
“Being a veteran is important to me: remembering these guys who fought in battle, either on the right side or the wrong side,” said Hartness.
Mississippi has the latest state flag that includes the Confederate battle emblem: a red field topped by a blue X with 13 white stars.
Lawmakers could adopt a new Mississippi flag without Confederate images. Or they could launch the volatile issue into a state election, giving voters options that may or may not include the current banner.
The emblem of the battle has been in the upper left corner of the Mississippi flag since 1894. White supremacists in the Legislature put it there amid a backlash against the political power that African-Americans won after the Civil War.
The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that the flag lacked official status. State laws were updated in 1906, and parts related to the flag were not pursued. Lawmakers established a flag election in 2001, and voters upheld the rebel-themed design.
But the flag has remained divisive in a state with a black population of 38%. All state public universities and various cities and counties have stopped flying due to the Confederate symbol that many consider racist.
Influential business, religious, educational and sports groups are asking Mississippi to drop the Confederate symbol. Supporters of the flag say the banner should be left alone or put on the state ballot, for voters to decide their fate.
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