EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — With a stroke of the governor's pen, Mississippi is retiring the last state flag in the U.S. with the Confederate battle emblem — a symbol that's widely condemned as racist.
Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed the historic bill on Tuesday afternoon that takes the 126-year-old state flag out of law, immediately removing official status for the banner that has been a source of division for generations.
"This is not a political moment to me but a solemn occasion to lead our Mississippi family to come together, to be reconciled, and to move on," Reeves said. "We are a resilient people defined by our hospitality. We are a people of great faith. Now, more than ever, we must lean on that faith, put our divisions behind us, and un
