Mississippi turning
Mississippi Sens. Nicole Boyd (left) and Sarita Simmons embrace Saturday in Jackson after both houses of the Legislature cleared the way for a final vote on redesigning the state flag to remove its Confederate symbol. Gov. Tate Reeves said earlier in the day that he would sign such a bill.
Amid national protests against racial injustice, Mississippi lawmakers have paved the way for legislation to remove the Confederate symbol from the state flag.
On Saturday, the Republican-led House and the Senate voted by two-thirds majorities to clear the path for a vote on a measure that would remove the current flag and replace it with a new design free of Confederate iconography.
The votes were procedural so that legislators could consider a bill actually changing the flag. That requires a simple majority and seems likely to pass; it could be debated as early as today.
After the votes were announced in each chamber, applause broke out. Earlier in the day, Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, indicated he would sign a bill if it reached his desk, a shift from his position that voters should decide via referendum.
Lawmakers delivered impassioned speeches for and against abandoning the symbol, which has endured previous challenges and continued to draw ardent defenders who see it as an important piece of the state’s past. Many described the day in historic terms, invoking the Founding Fathers, family histories and future generations.
Democratic Rep. Edward Blackmon Jr., who is black, said he had overcome the feelings he had seeing the flag growing up, but that it represents a painful history. He called for a flag that would stir pride in all the state’s residents, nearly 40% of whom are black.