The legislation, which cleans the State Assembly with 91-23 votes and the State Senate with 37-14 votes, suggests that there has been a change in the flags of Mississippi lawmakers across the country for ongoing racial justice protests for weeks. The flag, first adopted in 1894, has a Confederate war emblem in the corner and red, white and blue stripes.
Jeramey Anderson, a Democrat State Representative from Moss Point, applauded Sunday as a “historic moment.”
And NAACP chief Derrick Johnson, Wolf Blitzer from CNN said on Sunday evening, “This is a long time coming.”
“Finally, Mississippi has decided to become one of the 50 states, a single state that stands alone still carries the emblem of a separated society,” he said.
The vote on Sunday came after the Mississippi House and made a decision on Saturday to begin the process of changing the Senate flag.
After these votes, Jefferson Davis’ great-grandson Bertram Hayes-Davis agreed on the potential change of the Mississippi flag, saying “the war flag has been missed” and “it does not represent the entire Mississippi population.”
“There are a lot of people who look at it in this way, about history and heritage, and God blesses them for this heritage. So put it in a museum and honor it or put it in your house, but the flag should represent the entire population of Mississippi, and I am very happy to eventually make this change.” Hayes-Davis told CNN to Ana Cabrera in the “Newsroom” on Saturday.
The Confederate flag, symbols, and sculptures that commemorate the Confederate leaders have long been dividing the country. Critics call the flag a symbol representing war to protect slavery, and its supporters call it a sign of Southern pride and heritage.
The symbols have become increasingly a call for white supremacists.
In recent weeks, George Floyd’s death – protesters in some cases and city leaders in others – has led to the removal of contested sculptures and Confederation symbols that have been for some years, though not for a long time.
It was announced that he died soon after. Her death caught in the video sparked widespread protests in the U.S. calling for an end to police brutality.
This story has been updated with the additional reaction of Mississippi legislators and NAACP chief.
CNN’s Kay Jones, Allison Gordon, James Froio and Kelly Mena contributed to this report.
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