Elizabeth Warren says it’s time for Mississippi to adopt a new state flag

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• Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said she believes it is time for Mississippi to disavow its Confederate icons — namely on its state flag.
• "I would support removing Confederate celebrations from federal lands and putting them in museums where they belong," Warren said at a CNN townhall in Jackson, Mississippi, on Monday evening.
• Over a dozen proposals to adopt a new flag were proposed in 2019, but all of them were nixed last month, according to the Associated Press.

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said she believes it is time for Mississippi to disavow its Confederate icons — namely on its state flag.

"I would support removing Confederate celebrations from federal lands and putting them in museums where they belong," Warren said at a CNN townhall in Jackson, Mississippi, on Monday evening.

Asked if she believes the state should adopt a new flag, Warren had a short answer.

"Yes," she said to an applauding crowd.

Mississippi’s flag, which features a confederate battle emblem, has been a source of controversy. The flag from 1894 has been accused of being a racially charged symbol by critics, while supporters have claimed it is a hallowed representation of the state’s history.

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"The thirteen stars, sometimes said to represent the number of Confederate States and those that might have been Confederate," the state’s website says in reference to the 13 stars featured on the flag.

In Mississippi, over a dozen proposals to adopt a new flag were proposed in 2019, but all of them were nixed last month, according to the Associated Press. In 2001, Mississippi residents voted to keep the flag; however, its public universities have stopped featuring it on campuses.

Calls for a new state flag and the condemnation of Confederate symbols have intensified in light of a number of racist incidents and hate crimes throughout the country.

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Source: Business Insider – dchoi@businessinsider.com (David Choi)