Mississippi governor says he would sign bill to remove Confederate emblem from state flag
Ahead of the historic vote, Speaker Pro Tem Jason White argued forcefully against keeping the old flag, saying that it had come to be viewed as a symbol of hate.
“By changing our flag, we don’t abandon our founding principles,” he said. “We embrace them more fully by doing what is right. We’re not moving further away from our founding fathers’ visions. We’re moving closer to them. We’re not destroying our heritage; we’re fulfilling it.”Earlier in the day, Gov. Tate Reeves , who had long insisted voters alone should decide whether to abandon the state’s flag, said for the first time Saturday that he would sign a bill on the issue if one is sent his way.
. “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.” A debate has raged this week over the state flag, the last in the country to feature the Confederate battle flag in its design. The symbol, with 13 white stars atop a blue X with a red background, appears in the Mississippi flag’s upper-left corner.Adopted more than 30 years after the end of the Civil War, the banner has continued to fly despite years of criticism over its symbology, including previous attempts to change it.
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