Voters in Mississippi have been given the chance to settle a longstanding debate over the flag it’s used for 126 years. That flag incorporates
Voters in Mississippi have been given the chance to settle a longstanding debate over the flag it’s used for 126 years.
That flag incorporates the symbol of the Confederacy, and has been criticized as a logo of oppression and a celebration of the state’s racist previous.
An try to interchange that flag by a statewide referendum failed 19 years in the past. Since then, native and nationwide stress from sports activities teams and advocacy organizations to alter the flag has solely intensified.
That stress grew as social justice protests following the police killing of George Floyd and others pressured the nation to reckon with the affect of systemic racism and injustice on Black communities. Accomplice statues have been beneath siege, and so too was the flag.
The Mississippi legislature responded with a historic vote to take away the flag, which was adopted in the course of the Reconstruction period. The measure handed, and shortly after, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed it into legislation. By early July, the banner was not being flown from state buildings.
Now, voters have an opportunity to embrace a brand new flag, which encompasses a magnolia blossom, and 21 stars — one for every state that joined the US earlier than Mississippi, and one to acknowledge the Choctaw origins of the state.
Mississippi Measure 3
A sure vote would imply the state will undertake the brand new flag. A no vote would imply the brand new flag is not going to be adopted.