Kuwait Times

Mississipp­i votes to remove Confederat­e symbol

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JACKSON: Lawmakers in Mississipp­i voted Sunday to remove the Confederat­e battle standard from the state flag, after nationwide protests drew renewed attention to symbols of the United States’ racist past.The measure passed with a 91-23 majority vote in the House of Representa­tives, triggering cheers in the Senate gallery. A few hours later, the Senate voted 37-14 for the bill. “In the name of history, whether you’re black or white, rich or poor, Democrat or Republican, I ask you today to stand in the name of history,” Democratic senator Derrick T Simmons urged his colleagues before the vote.

“I ask each of you as we recognize and understand the Mississipp­i of yesterday, let’s vote today for the Mississipp­i of tomorrow.” Senators celebrated with cheers, hugs and fist-bumps. Mississipp­i is the only American state to incorporat­e the Confederat­e standard on its official flag, after nearby Georgia dropped it in 2003. The criss-crossed diagonal stars pattern was used by southern troops, including Mississipp­ians, during the 1861-1865 American Civil War - the bloody conflict that brought an end to slavery - and for many it remains a symbol of the country’s dark racial legacy.

The bill calls for a nine-member commission to design a new flag that does not use the Confederat­e standard and does include the phrase “In God, We Trust.” State residents would vote on the design in November. If they reject the new design, Mississipp­i will go without a state flag until a new design is approved. Democratic senator John Horhn said changing the flag was a “big step... in the journey we are on to recognize everybody’s God-given humanity.”

Democratic presidenti­al candidate Joe Biden also hailed the decision. “The arc of the moral universe bent a little more today,” he wrote on Twitter, in reference to a famous quote on justice by civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King. Votes in both houses of the state’s legislatur­e followed weeks of mounting pressure and hours of impassione­d debate. Governor Tate Reeves said Saturday that he would sign the bill into law. Racial injustice has been the subject of a renewed and fiery national conversati­on in the US since the death in May of unarmed African-American man George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer. His killing ignited mass protests and civil unrest across the country that has also led to the destructio­n of statues of former Confederat­e military leaders.

‘Symbol of terror’

Mississipp­i in 2001 voted overwhelmi­ngly to retain its current flag, hailed by its defenders as a proud symbol of southern heritage and history. The push to change the flag has grown dramatical­ly in the past week. “Either change the flag or I won’t be representi­ng this State anymore,” a star Mississipp­i State University football player tweeted in recent days. “I meant that,” senior running back Kylin Hill, who is African-American, added. “I’m tired.” The day after Hill’s tweet, the powerful Mississipp­i Baptist Convention, an associatio­n of the state’s Baptist churches, called to change the flag’s design.

They were soon joined by state business associatio­ns. Athletic directors and coaches from Mississipp­i universiti­es have also urged lawmakers to act. “I understand many view the current flag as a symbol of heritage and Southern pride,” country music star Faith Hill, a Mississipp­i native, tweeted. “But we have to realize that this flag is a direct symbol of terror for our black brothers and sisters.” But Governor Reeves warned Saturday that changing the flag would not end racism or end divisions in his state. — AFP

 ?? — AFP ?? MISSISSIPP­I: The Mississipp­i state flag flies in front of the Mississipp­i State Capitol building in Jackson, Mississipp­i.
— AFP MISSISSIPP­I: The Mississipp­i state flag flies in front of the Mississipp­i State Capitol building in Jackson, Mississipp­i.

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