The racism debate in the United States is not just about dealing with the numerous statues of people with a dark past. In case of Mississippi the discussion also concerns the state flag. Both chambers of parliament have now voted by a large majority to change the controversial flag.
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The flag, which has been in force since 1894, commemorates the former slave owners in the American south, the so-called Confederates. According to US media reports, Mississippi was the last state whose official flag still reminded of the Confederates. The death of the African American George Floyd in a brutal police operation at the end of May and the subsequent protests against racism, the resistance against the flag was raised again.
After the State House of Representatives, the Senate voted on Sunday evening (local time) to abolish the current flag. Senators voted 91 to 23 in favor of the change, according to numerous US media reports. Republican governor Tate Reeves had already announced on Saturday that he would sign the relevant law as soon as he had it.
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According to the law, a commission is to work out the new flag by mid-September. It should contain the motto “We trust in God” and will be presented to the voters on November 3, parallel to the presidential election.
Flag removed from the roof of the Parliament
Local television broadcaster WLBT 3 reported that the flag above the parliament had been brought up just minutes after the vote, despite demonstrators raving in front of the building to get the flag.
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The Democratic nominee for president, Joe Biden, described the Mississippi polls as a moral victory. The previous state flag has an image of a Confederate war flag in the upper left, often simply called the Southern flag.
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The flag of the former oppressor regime, which is still popular in the southern states, is under discussion due to the racist context. The popular motorsport series Nascar, for example, banned viewers a few weeks after Floyd’s death, Bring the flag to races.
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