Mississippi’s State Legislation Passes First Step To Remove Confederate Symbol On Its State Flag

Mississippi took the first steps to become a more inclusive state by passing a resolution that will start the process of removing the Confederate emblem from its state flag. 

On Saturday, more than two-thirds of the state legislature—85-34 in the House of Representatives, and 36-14 in the Senate, voted in favor of suspending rules so that lawmakers can propose a bill to change the flag. Observers at the Capitol loudly cheered and applauded the move, the New York Post reports.

“Today, you — Mississippi — have a date with destiny,” Sen. Briggs Hopson declared.

“The eyes of the state, the nation and indeed the world are on this House,” Republican Rep. Jason White stated. The legislation debate will continue Sunday, however, the bill has already received the approval of Republican Governor Tate Reeves, who said via Twitter he would sign the bill. 

“The legislature has been deadlocked for days as it considers a new state flag. 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,” Reeves said. 

The decision follows the recent intense criticism and pressure brought on by nationwide protests over racial injustices, especially in the southern states with one challenge being the use of confederate imagery, hence the rebel flag. 

Mississippi is the last U.S. state that uses the Confederate symbol within its state flag, which was designed and adopted to represent it in 1894. Jefferson Davis’ great-great-grandson, Bertram Hayes-Davis, is in agreement with the change of the flag and claims the “battle flag has been hijacked” and “does not represent the entire population of Mississippi,” CNN reports.

African American Democratic State Rep. Jeramey Anderson from Moss Point praised the passage of the resolution and stated the change to make the unprecedented move is ” a unique opportunity, one we should not squander.” Anderson, 28, joined the state legislature in 2013. He is the youngest to be elected to a state legislature in the history of the U.S.

The bill that will deal with the design of the new flag is expected to be introduced to the House soon and may include the provision “In God We Trust.”

As for those opposed to changing the flag, they should consider the words of Hayes-Davis. “It is historic and heritage-related, there are a lot of people who look at it that way, and God bless them for that heritage. So put it in a museum and honor it there or put it in your house, but the flag of Mississippi should represent the entire population, and I am thrilled that we’re finally going to make that change.” 

For most people throughout America, the flag symbolizes hatred and oppression, feelings that Mississippi would like to now move away from. 

“I would never have thought that I would see the flag come down in my lifetime,” said Democratic Sen. Barbara Blackmon. Let us celebrate a day we thought would never come.

We are making progress. Keep pushing!