Activists petition Mississippi to remove Confederate flag

Civil rights advocates are turning their attention to Mississippi, where they’ve garnered more than 50,000 signatures urging the Magnolia State to remove the Confederate image from its state flag.

{mosads}“The Confederate flag is one of America’s most potent symbols of white supremacy,” MoveOn Executive Director Anna Galland said in a statement. “Featuring it as a part of official state symbols or on government property is terribly offensive and sends the message that racists and extremists are welcomed by the state. It’s long past time for the Confederate flag to be removed from the state flag.”

The petition comes on the heels of Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker (R) and other state politicians calling for the state to replace the flag.

MoveOn activists raised more than 500,000 signatures in an effort to get South Carolina to remove the Confederate flag from the state Capitol grounds after the racially motivated shooting at a black church in Charleston.

On Monday, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) announced she would push the legislature to do so.

With action underway in South Carolina, activists moved on to Mississippi, one of the last major vestiges of the Confederate flag.