Six of seven members of the Mississippi Legislature whose districts include a part of Tallahatchie County, voted Sunday to change the state flag.
The historic vote on House Bill 1796 passed the House, 91-23, and then the Senate, 37-14.
Gov. Tate Reeves signed the bill into law late Tuesday.
Within 15 days, all Mississippi state flags featuring the Confederate battle emblem — a design adopted in 1894 — are to be removed from government institutions around the state.
State Reps. Tommy Reynolds of Water Valley, who represents District 33, and Tracey Rosebud of Tutwiler, who represents District 30, both Democrats, were among a group of 34 members of the House of Representatives who co-sponsored the introduction of House Bill 1796, which was authored by Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn.
Reynolds and Rosebud voted with fellow House members of the Tallahatchie delegation, District 34 Democrat Kevin Horan of Grenada and District 10 Republican Brady Williamson of Oxford, to change the state flag and authorize the appointment of a commission to select a new flag design to be submitted for the approval of voters in the Nov. 3 general election.
In the Senate, District 24 Democrat David Jordan of Greenwood and District 13 Democrat Sarita Simmons of Cleveland voted in favor of changing the flag, while Republican Lydia Graves Chassaniol of Winona was the only member of the Tallahatchie delegation to oppose final adoption of the flag bill by legislators.
Said Reynolds, “Although the bill to change the Mississippi flag was drafted by the Republican House speaker, over 75% of the members of the House, which included a majority of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents, came to the conclusion, as did I, that it was time to change Mississippi’s flag. I am especially pleased that the people will have a say in the final design.
“The flag that flies over all of us should be something we can all be proud of,” added Reynolds, the most tenured member of the Tallahatchie legislative delegation. “I am hopeful that the actions we took over the weekend will help create a more welcoming atmosphere and a home where our young people will want to stay and raise their families. I look forward to a bright future for Mississippi — one where we continue to respect and honor each other by exhibiting the cooperative spirit we all witnessed at our state capitol on Saturday and Sunday.”
Rosebud said the whirlwind weekend activity at the capitol had a “different feeling” than he has previously observed in his young career.
He noted that there was a unity of purpose among many legislators, including some “you never could have imagined ... wanted to change the structure of how our flag looked.”
“Everyone pushed for it,” Rosebud said. “It was a true bipartisan effort. And I was proud to be a part of it.”
Rosebud, who has served in the legislature since 2018, said he has fielded calls about the flag vote from friends of his living outside the country.
“The world was looking, and they see now that Mississippi can change, is willing to change, and I look forward to a lot of great things in the future for Mississippi,” added Rosebud.
One demographic he believes will be greatly inspired by the state flag action is young people.
“I think it motivates them to know that you can change things without violence, without violent protest — such as we have seen in some other parts of the country,” Rosebud said.
Jordan, who at 87 is the eldest member of the Tallahatchie delegation, spoke in favor of the flag bill’s passage on the floor of the Senate, urging colleagues, “Let’s do this, because it’s the right thing to do.”
IN THE PHOTO: The Mississippi state flag, with its Confederate battle emblem in the canton, flies beneath the U.S. flag on the grounds of the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Charleston Tuesday afternoon, just hours before it was officially retired. By Wednesday morning, the then decommissioned state flag had been removed from the flagpole. (Photo by Clay McFerrin)
