Mississippi lawmakers poised to pass bill removing Confederate emblem from its state flag.

Mississippi lawmakers on Sunday voted in favor of removing the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag, a symbol that has flown around the state for more than 120 years.

The State House and Senate approved a suspension of the rules on Saturday, allowing for debate and a vote on the bill. It then passed the House by a vote of 91-23, quickly followed by a 37-14 Senate vote on Sunday.

Speaking before the vote, state Sen. Derrick Simmons urged his colleagues to vote for the “Mississippi of tomorrow.”

“In the name of history I stand for my two sons, who are 1 and 6 years old, who should be educated in schools and be able to frequent businesses and express their black voices in public places that all fly a symbol of love not hate,” he said.

The bill's text calls for the formation of a commission that would be in charge of a flag redesign, one that eliminates the Confederate symbol but keeps the slogan "In God We Trust." A redesign approved by the committee will then be placed on the November ballot.

If the new design fails to be approved by voters in November, the commission will try again for a new flag that will be presented to the legislature during the 2021 session.

Gov. Tate Reeves, who previously expressed resistance to lawmakers changing the flag, said that he would sign the bill if it came across his desk.

"The Legislature has been deadlocked for days as it considers a new state flag,” Reeves said in a tweet Saturday morning. “The argument over the 1894 flag has become as divisive as the flag itself and it’s time to end it. If they send me a bill this weekend, I will sign it.”

Reeves previously said any change to the flag should come through a popular vote rather than the Legislature. He acknowledged in a Facebook post on Thursday, however, that vetoing such legislation would be “pointless.”

The current flag features red, white and blue stripes with the Confederate battle emblem in the corner and was first adopted in February 1894, according to the Mississippi Historical Society.

Other attempts to change the flag have fallen short over the years, including a 2001 public referendum in which Mississippi voters were given a chance to change the flag. The proposal failed as 64 percent voted against a redesign.

Mississippi’s decision to change the 126-year-old flag comes amid a new reckoning on racial inequality in America. Activists have fought in recent weeks to tear down monuments and dedications to historical figures that promoted slavery, such as statues around the country glorifying Confederate war generals.

2. Talking about the issue of racism is quite exhausting.

WASHINGTON – The House passed a sweeping police reform package on Thursday that would end certain legal protections for officers accused of misconduct and ban chokeholds in response to the death of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly 9 minutes.

The 236-181 vote, largely along party lines, comes one day after Democrats blocked the Senate from moving forward on a competing bill due to arguments the legislation did not go far enough to enacting meaningful changes demanded by protesters in dozens of cities across the country. Three Republicans, Reps. Will Hurd, Brian Fitzpatrick and Fred Upton, joined Democrats in voting in favor of the measure.

1. The House bill, which was crafted by the Congressional Black Caucus, aims to bolster police accountability and end the practice of aggressive officers moving from one department to another by creating a national registry to track those with checkered records.

2. It also would end certain police practices, such as the use of no-knock warrants and chokeholds, which have been under scrutiny after the recent deaths of Black Americans.

Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Louisville ER technician, was shot and killed in her Kentucky home March 13 after police used a no-knock warrant to enter her house.

3. The Democrats' bill would also end qualified immunity for police officers, making them personally liable for constitutional violations such as excessive force.

"George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and that was the beginning of a new chapter in a long history to transform policing in America," Karen Bass, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Thursday morning. "This time hundreds of thousands of people in every state in the Union are marching to make sure that he did not die in vain. His death will not be just another Black man dead at the hands of the police."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who joined Bass and fellow Democrats on the steps of the Capitol, said the vote would honor Floyd and ensure his death, and the deaths of other African Americans, were not in vain.

"Americans from every walk of life and corner of the country have been marching, protesting and demanding that this moment of national agony become one of national action," Pelosi said. "Today with the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, the House is honoring his life and the lives of all killed by police brutality and pledging, never again."

As the House debated the measure, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who represents the district where Floyd died, said those in her home of Minneapolis were "angry" and "tired of being murdered at the hands of police."

"I rise on behalf of George Floyd, who was brutally murdered. And, his brutal murder touched our nation," she said. "I rise because so many can no longer rise. When we build a system that provides equal justice for everyone here in America, we might finally all rise."

Omar has become one of the only members of Congress who has called for even tougher measures to reshape policing through the defund the police movement. While a host of civil and human rights groups back the Democratic legislation, there are some who argue even more is needed.

Philomena Wankenge, a co-founder of the activist group Freedom Fighters D.C., doesn’t think measures in the House or Senate go far enough and says police departments should be disbanded and started over from scratch.

“I want the police defunded,’’ she said. “I want those funds to go our communities. We are owed that.’’

While Democrats had the numbers in the House to easily pass the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, its future remains uncertain as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already said the Republican-controlled chamber would not take up the legislation.

Both chambers will have to negotiate a compromise but some lawmakers have expressed skepticism that Congress will be able to pass police reforms this year after the Senate measure was blocked before debate or talk of changes to the measure could really begin.

Democrats have expressed optimism that the House legislation along with ongoing protests would put pressure on Republicans, forcing them to the negotiating table.

"I think it's a better chance than people think," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters on the chances of passing a police reform bill this Congress after the Senate bill failed Wednesday. "That's our hope, our prayer and what we will work for," Schumer added.

making them personally liable for constitutional violations such as excessive force.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Des Moines City Council has unanimously advanced a proposal to ban racial profiling by police in the wake of nationwide protests and civil unrest decrying racial injustice.

Of the 45 people who spoke before the council in an online meeting Monday addressing the ban, most said more oversight was needed when racial profiling complaints are lodged against Des Moines police, the Des Moines Register reported.

1. The proposal would ban racial profiling and biased policing. Violations could lead to an officer’s firing.

2. The proposed ordinance defines racial profiling as occurring when an officer’s “motivating factor of the action taken is based on an individual’s race, color, ethnicity, religion or national origin” instead of the person’s behavior or other information “reasonably relied upon” to identify suspects.

3. It would prohibit “discriminatory pre-textual stops,” when an officer stops someone for a minor violation but uses it as an excuse to look for more serious violations.

4. Under the ordinance, officers who witness a colleague racially profiling someone would be required to report it to their supervisors.

5. Those who believe they are victims of racial profiling would have their complaints investigated by the Des Moines Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards.

Outside City Hall during the meeting, demonstrators conducted a sit-in to protest the proposed measure, saying it gives too much power to police to determine what constitutes racial profiling. Many have pushed for the creation of a citizens review board or other forms of community oversight.

“I’m imploring the council to really listen to the people because the people have not been heard,” said Charice Williams, who lives in northeast Des Moines. “When we don’t have accountability — true accountability — it doesn’t make any sense to try to pass an ordinance. Accountability is crucial.”

The proposed ordinance will be back before the council at its June 22 meeting for the second of three readings before it can become law. Councilman Josh Mandelbaum said he expects a community policy review committee to be included in the ordinance when it comes back before the council.

These action items are good examples of progress.

Mostly were it stands right now I think all the protesters just want everyone to be miserable.

2. This movement is real and is having a positive and tangible affect.

1. The constant, persistent and relentless protesting is the very reason that these positive changes are actually happening.

2. The relentless protesting is probably the single biggest reason we are now seeing these positive changes occurring.

3. Without the relentless protesting, we probably wouldn't be seeing any of these positive changes occurring.

So, because George Floyd died tragically, suddenly all these protests have changed the hearts and minds of millions of people?

the worm is turning because a small number really savvy people of color have finally gotten the ear of the old white guys in ties.

What is going on at street level is bread and circuses.