JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi officials are having a ceremony to relegate the former state flag to history.
The gathering Wednesday comes a day after Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed a new law removing official status from the last state banner in the U.S. that included the Confederate battle emblem.
Mississippi faced increasing pressure in recent weeks to change its 126-year-old flag since protests against racial injustice have focused attention on Confederate symbols.
The new law requires a ceremony for the “prompt, dignified and respectful removal” of the flag.
It is being down at the Capitol and presented to the state Department of Archives and History.