Mississippi’s House and Senate voted to get rid of the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag with each chamber garnering significant bipartisan support for the momentous decision. The vote focuses on removing the Confederate battle emblem from the flag over a century after white supremacist legislators embraced the design, generation after the South lost the Civil War.

Onlookers in the Capitol lauded the votes in the House and Senate. Each chamber received significant support from the bipartisan for the historic decision. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said that he will sign the bill, and the official status will be take away from the flag as soon as he does. This is likely to take place within the next few days.

Mississippi has faced criticism for its flag recently amid the ongoing international protests against racial discrimination in the United States. Legislators embraced each other after the vote. Those on the opposite side of the matter also embraced each other as an emotional day of discussion came to an end, CNBC reported.

A flag sporting a new design will be made by a commission, which needs to ensure that the new flag does not have the Confederate symbol and include the words, In God We Trust. The new design will be made available to the voters for approval in the Nov. 3 election but it gets rejected, the commission will come up with a different design using the same instructions and send it to voters later.

With 38 percent black population, the state uses a flag that has an emblem that's considered racist. For five years, Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn has called for changing the flag, claiming the Confederate symbol is disrespectful. On June 28, the House passed the bill 91-23, and the Senate followed with 37-14 within a few hours.

Gunn said celebrating this day on the Lord’s day was special because a lot of people prayed to Him to bring this to fruition. Amid the ongoing debate over changing the flag, several cities and the state’s public universities have taken it down on their initiative. Regrettably, the issue failed to grab the attention of recent governors or the Legislature, which is dominated by conservative Republican.

The dynamic shifted as sports leaders, religious groups, businesses, and a coalition of politically formed an unconventional team to push to change the flag. Earlier this month, a large crowd of demonstrators outside the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion cheered as an organizer noted that it was time for the state to get rid of all Confederate symbols.

Mississippi Baptist Convention and several other religious groups claimed it is morally imperative to remove the rebel emblem from the flag. Business groups said the banner hampers economic development in one of America's poorest states.