Mississippi governor again proclaims Confederate Heritage Month

Gov. Tate Reeves (Photo by Brandon Dill/Getty Images) JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves is defending his decision to again name April as Confederate Heritage Month, nearly two years after he signed a law retiring the last state flag in the U.S.

that featured a Confederate battle emblem.The Republican governor signed a proclamation without fanfare Friday. It does not mention slavery — the defense of which was Mississippi's stated reason for trying to secede from the U.S.In response to a question at a news conference Wednesday, Reeves said he issued a Confederate Heritage Month proclamation "in the same manner and fashion that the five governors that came before me, Republicans and Democrats alike, for over 30 years have done.""And we did it again this year," Reeves said. "Didn't think this was the year to stop doing it."RELATED: New Stone Mountain logo excludes giant Confederate carvingFour governors before Reeves — not five — issued Confederate Heritage Month proclamations.

By state law, Mississippi also has a Confederate Heritage Day in April, which is a holiday for state employees.Mississippi has taken steps in recent years to distance itself from symbols of the Confederacy, including removing some monuments, with critics saying the images glorify racism in a state where nearly 40% of residents are Black.

In June 2020, Mississippi legislators voted with bipartisan support to retire the Confederate-themed state flag, and voters that November approved a new flag featuring a magnolia.MISSISSIPPI, July 1, 2020 -- Mississippi state flag is lowered from the state Capitol Building during a ceremony in Jackson, Mississippi, the United States, on July 1, 2020.