US state debates Confederate symbol on flag

Mississippi lawmakers could vote in the next few days to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag, a symbol that has come under intensifying criticism in recent weeks amid nationwide protests against racial injustice.

Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Saturday, for the first time, that he would sign a bill to change the flag if the Legislature passes one.

He had previously said that he would not veto one — a more passive stance.

Mississippi's annual legislative session is almost over, and it takes a two-thirds majority of the House and Senate to consider a bill after the normal deadlines have passed.

Leaders have been working to secure those majorities.

There's a two-step process. First, legislators must suspend the deadline with two-thirds majorities.

Then, they must take a separate vote on a flag bill, with only a simple majority needed to pass it and send it to the governor.

The process could happen in a single day, or it could stretch into two or more days.

Mississippi has the last state flag that includes the Confederate battle emblem — a red field topped by a blue X with 13 white stars.

Lawmakers could adopt a new Mississippi flag without Confederate imagery.

Or they could kick the volatile issue to a statewide election, giving voters choices that might or might not include the current banner.

The battle emblem has been in the upper-left corner of the Mississippi flag since 1894.

White supremacists in the Legislature put it there during backlash to the political power that African Americans gained after the Civil War.

The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that the flag lacked official status. State laws were updated in 1906, and portions dealing with the flag were not carried forward.

Legislators set a flag election in 2001, and voters kept the rebel-themed design.

But the flag has remained divisive in a state with a 38% Black population.

All of the state's public universities and several cities and counties have stopped flying it because of the Confederate symbol that many see as racist.

Influential business, religious, education and sports groups are calling on Mississippi to drop the Confederate symbol. Flag supporters say the banner should be left alone or put on the statewide ballot for voters to decide its fate.