Rep. Thompson: Remove ‘treasonous’ Confederate symbols

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

Bennie_ThompsonJACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi’s only black congressman is stepping up his effort to remove all images of the Confederate battle flag from the U.S. House chamber and House office buildings in Washington.

That includes the Mississippi state flag, which has featured the battle emblem since 1894.

Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson filed a resolution June 23 to remove Confederate images from Capitol spaces controlled by the House. He sent a letter to a committee chairman Wednesday, urging her to advance his proposal.

Thompson says the Confederate states were “treasonous” and tried to tear apart the nation to perpetuate slavery.

He does not fly the Mississippi flag in his offices.

Debate about Confederate symbols gained new traction after last month’s massacre of nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.