Mississippi politicians have taken an important step in removing the Confederate emblem from the state flag, BBC News reported.

The vote has passed in both chambers of the Mississippi legislature.

Mississippi is the last state of the US with the emblem of Confederate captured on the flag. After a wave of protests and riots following the death of African-American George Floyd, many people in America view the Confederate emblem as a racist symbol.

The flag was originally used by the slave-owning states who lost the US Civil War from 1861 to 1865.

If the law is finally adopted, a design for the new flag will be developed, which will be voted on in November.