Tate Reeves has said he will sign the bill, and the state flag would lose its official status as soon as he signs the measure. Mississippi has a 38% Black population — and the last state flag that incorporates the emblem that’s widely seen as racist. “We need something that fulfills the purpose of being a state flag and that everybody in the state has a reason to be proud of,” said Mike Leach, football coach at Mississippi State University. Many people who wanted to keep the emblem on the Mississippi flag said they see it as a symbol of heritage. Georgia put the battle emblem prominently on its state flag in 1956, during a backlash to the civil rights movement.

Source: Huffington Post June 28, 2020 23:03 UTC