Mississippi House Votes to Change State Flag That Has Confederate Symbol

The state of Mississippi moved one step closer to changing its flag that has the Confederate battle symbol on its upper left-hand corner.

Mississippi's House of Representatives passed a bill Sunday by a 91-23 margin, and it now moves to the state Senate.

Mississippi's Republican governor, Tate Reeves, said he would sign the bill into effect if it reaches his desk.

Mississippi is the last state in the U.S. to have a Confederate symbol on its flag. Republican Rep. Philip Gunn, the state's Speaker of the House, has been trying for years to change the flag that's 126-years-old, but it hasn't been an easy task in the deep Southern state.

He told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger that it was finally time to do it. "Change is hard," Gunn said. "People are going to resist initially, but I think over time it's going to be proven that this was the right decision. We're poised to reach our full potential now."

He added: "This is an opportunity for us to find a flag that's unifying for all Mississippians, and that's what we're going to do."

The call for change comes during nationwide protests over the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis. Floyd was lying on the ground as now-former officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for several minutes. The incident sparked protests not only over Floyd's death, but the deaths of other Black Americans at the hands of police. The Black Lives Matter movement and protests around the country became a march for social justice for African Americans and for other people of color.

In the process, cities have begun removing statues related to the Confederacy, and some have called for changing names of schools and buildings related to figures from that era. Opponents say the Confederate symbols are a harsh reminder of slavery that existed in the U.S. until emancipation, as well as systemic racism in the country.

In Mississippi, college students have demanded change. Last week, a contingency of sports coaches from the eight public universities visited the capitol to ask for change.

If the bill passes and is signed by Reeves, the flag will be removed immediately and a commission would be established to devise a new flag that must feature the words "In God We Trust." The new flag would then be voted on during a November election.

Reeves said the flag has been divisive in his state, and he wrote on Facebook that he would sign the bill if the Senate passes it.

"The argument over the 1894 flag has become as divisive as the flag itself and it's time to end it. If they send me a bill this weekend, I will sign it," the governor wrote.

"We should not be under any illusion that a vote in the Capitol is the end of what must be done—the job before us is to bring the state together and I intend to work night and day to do it," Reeves wrote.

"It will be harder than recovering from tornadoes, harder than historic floods, harder than agency corruption, or prison riots or the coming hurricane season—even harder than battling the Coronavirus.

"For economic prosperity and for a better future for my kids and yours, we must find a way to come together. To heal our wounds, to forgive, to resolve that the page has been turned, to trust each other. With God's help, we can."