The Mississippi state legislature voted Sunday to replace its state flag, the last in the nation to display the Confederate battle emblem. The removal of the flag marks the last Confederate symbol collapse in the weeks after George Floyd’s death, as activists have called for a fresh look at racism that exists in every corner of society.
The bill was passed by a vote of 91-23 in the House and 37-14 in the Senate.
The bill now goes to the desk of Governor Tate Reeves, who on Saturday morning said he would sign the legislation, reversing resistance to a flag-led change of flag. Mississippians will vote for a replacement flag in the November election. According to the legislation, the current design of the flag cannot be an option.
“I guess many of you don’t even see that flag in the corner,” Mississippi State Representative Ed Blackmon, who is black, said during a public comment on Saturday. “Some of us notice it every time we walk in here, and it’s not a good feeling.”
Rogelio V. Solis / AP
Until earlier this month, most Mississippians were in favor of keeping the flag, which features the Northern Virginia Army battle flag. In 2001, voters decided two-by-one on a ballot to keep the flag as it is, many arguing it was a nod to their ancestors who fought for Mississippi in the Civil War.
But a recent wave of influential business, religious and sports leaders condemning the flag, including the Southeast Conference and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, prompted a change of heart. By Thursday, polls showed 55% of Mississipians wanted a change, according to the state chamber of commerce.
Many symbols of the confederation They have disappeared in the wake of Floyd’s death. Earlier this month, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced his intention to remove an imposing statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from Richmond’s historic Monument Avenue. Military leaders have said they were open to renaming forts named in honor of the Confederate generals, a proposal that has been rejected by President Trump. NASCAR announced it would ban display of the confederate flag During races and other events, writing in a statement that the presence of the flag “runs counter to our commitment to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment.”
But nowhere is the Confederate flag displayed more than in Mississippi, the last remaining state to include the design on its official state flag. As other southern states have withdrawn designs that included the symbol, Mississippi has been the only place reserved, even when institutions across the state have voluntarily withdrawn it.
After the attack on black parishioners by a white supremacist in a South Carolina church, all Mississippi public universities and many cities have stopped flying the flag. But the flag still flies in front of many public buildings, including the state capitol building and the governor’s mansion.
Mississippians had previously been resistant to changing the flag, citing the state’s history. But activists argued that the flag has been co-opted, and is now used as a symbol of white supremacy, the Jim Crow South and the racism and violence that black Americans still face.
“My ancestors were beaten and traumatized, and I was under that banner,” said Jarrius Adams, 22, a political activist who advocated for change. “There are many times when I am not proud to be from Mississippi, but this is definitely a time that I am extremely proud to be from Mississippi.”
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