• Wion
  • /World
  • /US: Mississippi lawmakers pass resolution to remove Confederate emblem from state flag

US: Mississippi lawmakers pass resolution to remove Confederate emblem from state flag

US: Mississippi lawmakers pass resolution to remove Confederate emblem from state flag

Mississippi flag

The lawmakers inMississippi have passed a resolution paving way to strip the Confederate emblem from thestate flag.

The state House and Senate both approved a resolution to suspend legislative deadlines and introduce a bill to have a commission redesign the 126-year-old state flag.

The vote passed in both chambers of the Mississippi legislature: in the House of Representatives by a margin of 84-35, and then in the Senate by 36-14.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

The resolution calls for the immediate removal of the current flag and for a commission to design a new flag in which all Confederate symbols will be removed and the words "In God We Trust" will be added. The new design will be put to a public vote in November.

Mississippi is the last state in the US to feature the emblem on its flag.

The resolution comes asConfederate monuments of all kindsare being banned, removed and transformed across the nation after protests and demonstrations erupted in response tosystemic racism against Black Americans.

The Confederate emblem is viewed by many as a racist symbol, with recent protests over the death of George Floyd reigniting debate over its use.

The flag was originally used by the slave-owning states who lost the US Civil War (1860-65).