- The Mississippi House and Senate voted on Sunday to remove the Confederate emblem from their flag.
- According to Associated Press, Mississippi's legislative bodies received bipartisan support on Sunday afternoon to change their state flag — the last in the country to feature the Confederate emblem.
- According to AP, a commission will design a new flag that cannot include the Confederate symbol and must include the words "In God We Trust." Voters will be able to approve the new design in the upcoming election.
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The Mississippi House and Senate voted on Sunday to remove the Confederate emblem from their flag, as widespread protests in recent weeks have brought systemic racism to the forefront of the US agenda.
According to Associated Press, Mississippi's legislative bodies received bipartisan support on Sunday afternoon to change their state flag — the last in the country to feature the Confederate emblem. The Senate erupted with cheering and applause after the vote, according to AP.
According to AP, a commission will design a new flag that cannot include the Confederate symbol and must include the words "In God We Trust." Voters will be able to approve the new design in the upcoming election.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said discussions over changing the flag were "deadlocked for days." The Republican governor said that if the Mississippi legislature were to present him with a bill, he would sign it.
"The argument over the 1894 flag has become as divisive as the flag itself and it's time to end it," he wrote. "For economic prosperity and for a better future for my kids and yours, we must find a way to come together."
The removal of the symbol — considered by many to be a hateful remnant of slavery — from the state flag comes as recent protests have sparked a widespread effort to remove Confederate iconography from across the country, including statues of Confederate leaders and Confederate flags.
Mississippi held a referendum in 2001 to change its state flag, though nearly 65% of residents voted to keep the current flag.
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