Mississippi lawmakers on Sunday passed a bill to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag, a symbol that has flown for more than 120 years after white supremacist legislators adopted the design a generation after the South lost the Civil War.
The State House and Senate approved a suspension of the rules on Saturday, allowing for debate and a vote on the bill. It then passed the House by a vote of 91-23, quickly followed by a 37-14 Senate vote on Sunday, The Associated Press reports.
Spectators in the Capitol cheered and applauded after the votes in the House and Senate.
Speaking before the vote, state Sen. Derrick Simmons urged his colleagues to vote for the “Mississippi of tomorrow.”
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“In the name of history I stand for my two sons, who are 1 and 6 years old, who should be educated in schools and be able to frequent businesses and express their black voices in public places that all fly a symbol of love not hate,” he said.
Governor Tate Reeves, who previously expressed resistance to lawmakers changing the flag, said that he would sign the bill if it came across his desk.
The current flag features red, white and blue stripes with the Confederate battle emblem in the corner and was first adopted in February 1894, according to the Mississippi Historical Society.
Mississippi’s decision to change the 126-year-old flag comes amid a new reckoning on racial inequality in America. In the weeks since the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, protesters across the United States have demanded systemic changes in policing while also seeking to remove symbols of racism and oppression.
