Mississippi could drop Confederate flag symbol

Text by: RFI Follow

As the desire to move away from the Confederate heritage of the slave slave South gains ground in the United States, Mississippi could follow the trend: the local Congress debates this Sunday June 28 on a change of flag, the State being the only to still display the colors of the old flag of the Confederate Slavers. Since the death of George Floyd, the Americans have engaged in a critical re-reading of their History.

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The battle flag of the old Confederate States , the Dixie Flag with its 13 white stars in a blue X on a red background, appears in the upper left corner of the Mississippi flag, which dates from 1894.

For part of the whites of the South, this flag represents their historical heritage . But for a growing part of Americans, it symbolizes above all slavery and segregation, especially since the white supremacists have widely adopted it.

An old dossier that is gaining ground

Redrawing this flag is an old file. In 2001, a Democratic governor had already submitted the idea to a referendum. But 65% of the voters opposed it and the official had been dismissed the following year. Sensitive subject therefore, but which finds new impetus in favor of the immense anti - racist movement in the United States after the death of the African-American George Floyd .

Republican Governor Tate Reeves said for the first time on Saturday June 27 that he would ratify the bill if it was passed. And it is on the right track: the same day, the elected representatives of the two chambers of the local Congress opened the way for a debate and a bill must be presented and debated this Sunday. The Democratic and Republican parties agree on one point: no Confederate emblem, but the future flag will necessarily bear the motto "  In God we trust  " ("  In God we believe  ").

If legislators agree, the flag project must be validated by voters in Mississippi on November 3, also the date of the presidential election. The state could thus follow in the footsteps of Georgia, which abandoned any reference to the Dixie Flag in 2003.

Miles away, the prestigious American university of Princeton, in New Jersey, will also withdraw the name of Woodrow Wilson both from one of its schools and from a student residence. The director of the university explains that the racism displayed by the former American president made it an "  inappropriate name  ".

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• United States
• Racism

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