JACKSON, Mississippi, USA (AP) – Mississippi lawmakers voted Sunday to remove a Confederate battle emblem from their state flag, prompting a massive ovation more than a century after congressmen belonging to the White supremacy adopted the design a generation after the South lost the Civil War.
Those present on Capitol Hill cheered and applauded after successive votes in the state House of Representatives and Senate.
Both chambers recorded broad bipartisan support for the landmark decision. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has said he will enact the measure and the state flag would lose its official status once it happens. At the moment it has not indicated the date on which it would sign the decree, which could happen in the coming days.
Mississippi has faced mounting pressure to modify its flag in the past month, amid protests around the world against racial injustice in the United States. A huge ovation erupted as lawmakers hugged each other in the Senate as final approval was announced. Even opponents of the measure embraced at the end of an emotional day of debate. When the decision was announced, some bells rang in the state capital.
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A commission has been assigned to design a new flag without the Confederate symbol and which must have the legend “In God We Trust”. Voters will be asked to approve the new design during the Nov. 3 election. If rejected, the commission will use a new design with the same parameters and will be sent later to the voters.
38% of Mississippi’s population is black – and the state flag was the last to carry the emblem that is considered a racist symbol.
The president of the state House of Representatives, Philip Gunn, a white man, has lobbied for five years to change the state flag, claiming that the symbol of the Confederacy is offensive. His camera voted 91-23 on Sunday in favor of a new flag. The Senate approved the proposal by a 37-14 margin soon after.
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