- The Mississippi State Parliament approved the change of flag to commemorate slave owners in the American south.
- Both chambers have spoken in favor of this.
- The flag above the parliament was raised shortly after the vote.
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Both Mississippi Houses of Parliament voted by a majority to change the state’s controversial flag. The flag, which has been in force since 1894, commemorates the former slave owners in the American south, the so-called Confederates.
According to US media reports on Sunday, Mississippi was the last state whose official flag still reminded of the Confederates. The death of African-American George Floyd in a brutal police operation at the end of May and the subsequent protests against racism had given opponents of the flag a new tailwind.
After the State House of Representatives, the Senate also voted on Sunday evening to abolish the current flag. Senators voted 91 to 23 in favor of the change, according to numerous US media reports. Republican governor Tate Reeves had already announced on Saturday that he would sign the relevant law as soon as he had it.
Raising the flag
According to the law, a commission is to work out the new flag by mid-September. It should contain the motto “We trust in God” and will be presented to voters on November 3, parallel to the presidential election.
Local television broadcaster WLBT 3 reported that the flag above the parliament had been brought up just minutes after the vote – despite demonstrators campaigning for the flag in front of the building. Democratic nominee-elect Joe Biden described the Mississippi polls as a moral victory. The previous state flag has an image of a Confederate war flag in the upper left, often simply called the Southern flag.
The flag of the former oppressor regime, which is still popular in parts of the southern states, is coming under increasing pressure due to its racist past. The popular motorsport series Nascar, for example, prohibited spectators from bringing the flag to races a few weeks after Floyd’s death.
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Controversy over symbol: The US state of Mississippi wants to abolish the controversial flag. (June 28, 2020)
Keystone / Rogelio V. Solis
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While the supporters of a new flag are in the arms after the vote, …
Keystone / Rogelio V. Soli
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It should contain the motto “We trust in God” and will be presented to voters on November 3, parallel to the presidential election.
Keystone / Rogelio V. Soli
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(SDA)
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