The bill will now go to Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, who has said he would sign it into law. The legislation — which cleared the state House in a 91-23 vote and the state Senate with a 37-14 vote — comes as Mississippi lawmakers have been weighing a change to their flag for weeks amid ongoing racial justice protests across the country. The flag, first adopted in 1894, has red, white and blue stripes with the Confederate battle emblem in the corner. The bill establishes a commission to develop a new flag design without the Confederate emblem that includes the phrase "In God, We Trust." Mississippi state voters would then vote on the new design this November. State Rep. Jeramey Anderson, a Democrat from Moss Point, applauded its passage Sunday as a "historic moment.""I thank those who came before us, who with courage and resolve nurtured the Civil Rights Movement that helped bring us to this day," he tweeted. "What a beautiful moment of unity."That message was echoed by Democratic state Rep. Zakiya Summers, who tweeted, "I just through the deuces to the state flag that's at the entrance of the house chamber!"And NAACP president Derrick Johnson told CNN's Wolf Blitzer Sunday evening, "This is a long time coming.""Finally, Mississippi decided to be one of the 50 states, and not the one state standing alone still bearing the emblem of a segregated society," he said. Sunday's vote came after the Mississippi House and Senate passed a resolution on Saturday to begin the process of changing the flag.Following those votes, Jefferson Davis' great-great-grandson, Bertram Hayes-Davis, agreed with the potential change of the Mississippi flag, saying that the "battle flag has been hijacked" and "does not represent the entire population of Mississippi.""It is historic and heritage-related, there are a lot of people who look at it that way, and God bless them for that heritage. So put it in a museum and honor it there or put it in your house, but the flag of Mississippi should represent the entire population, and I am thrilled that we're finally going to make that change," Hayes-Davis told CNN's Ana Cabrera on "Newsroom" Saturday.The flag of the Confederacy, its symbols and the statues commemorating Confederate leaders have long divided the country. Critics call the flag a symbol that represents the war to uphold slavery, while supporters call it a signRead More – Source
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