Mississippi House Approves Plan To Remove State Flag With Confederate Emblem

TOPLINE

The Mississippi House of Representatives on Saturday afternoon successfully passed a new resolution to change the state flag and remove the Confederate emblem, with Gov. Tate Reeves also issuing a statement saying he would sign the bill.

KEY FACTS

Crucial quote

“The eyes of the state, the nation and indeed the world are on us and what we do today,” said House Speaker Pro Tem Jason White, who presented the resolution to the floor. “Whether we like it or not the confederate emblem on our state flag is viewed by many as a symbol of hate. There is no getting around that fact.”

Key background

The Mississippi state flag has been controversial for years, but pressure to change the flag has reached new heights in recent months. There are growing calls from protests following the death of George Floyd for the removal of Confederate symbols, with forces both inside and outside of Mississippi now pushing hard to see a change to the flag. The national reckoning on race relations resulting from protests after the death of George Floyd have brought the prominence of Confederate symbols publicly displayed in the U.S., and especially in the South, back into the spotlight—renewing calls for their removal. Like much Confederate iconography, the Mississippi state flag was adopted a generation after the Civil War—in 1894—at a time when whites had regained political power across the South and Jim Crow laws were being passed.

Further reading

Mississippi Governor Shoots Down ‘Separate but Equal’ Option For New State Flag (Forbes)

Here Are All The Confederate Monuments Now Coming Down (Forbes)