The Mississippi Senate has voted 37-14 Sunday to remove the Confederate battle standard, often seen as a symbol of the United States' dark racial legacy, from the state flag.
Democratic senator John Horhn said changing the flag would not solve the effects of the country's racist past.
"It is a big step, however, in the journey we are on to recognise everybody's God-given humanity and self-worth," he said.
The bill, which the House of Representatives had passed with a 91-23 majority vote earlier in the day, calls for a nine-member commission that would design a new flag that does not use the Confederate standard and does include the phrase "In God, We Trust."
Mississippi has the last state flag with the Confederate battle emblem - a red field topped by a blue X with 13 white stars. Many see the emblem as racist, and the flag has been divisive for generations in a state with a 38 per cent black population.
Republican Governor Tate Reeves said on Saturday for the first time that he would sign a bill to change the flag if the Republican-controlled Legislature sends him one. He previously said he would not veto one - a more passive stance.
Jason White during debate on Saturday, June 27, 2020 at the Capitol. Source: AP
"The argument over the 1894 flag has become as divisive as the flag itself and it's time to end it," Mr Reeves said.
"I would never have thought that I would see the flag come down in my lifetime," said Democratic Senator Barbara Blackmon of Canton, who is African American.
A bill will erase the current Mississippi flag from state law. A commission will design a new flag that cannot include the Confederate battle emblem but must have the phrase "In God We Trust." The new design will be put on the ballot on 3 November.
Democratic Senator Barbara Blackmon of Canton Source: AP
If a majority voting that day accept the new design, it will become the state flag. If a majority rejects it, the commission will design a new flag using the same guidelines.
"I know there are many good people who ... believe that this flag is a symbol of our Southern pride and heritage," said Mr White.
"But for most people throughout our nation and the world, they see that flag and think that it stands for hatred and oppression."
'Symbol of terror'
Mississippi in 2001 voted overwhelmingly to retain its current flag, hailed by its defenders as a proud symbol of southern heritage and history.
"I know that when you walk into this building every day... I would guess that a lot don't even see that flag in the right corner up there," Edward Blackman, an African-American Democratic lawmaker, told colleagues during the debate Saturday.
"There's some of us who notice it every time we walk in here, and it's not a good feeling," he added.
The push to change the flag has grown dramatically in the past week.
A star Mississippi State University football player tweeted, "Either change the flag or I won't be representing this State anymore."
"I meant that," senior running back Kylin Hill, who is African-American, added. "I'm tired."
The day after Hill's tweet, the powerful Mississippi Baptist Convention, an association of the state's Baptist churches, called to change the flag's design.
As a groundswell of support grew, they were soon joined by state associations of real estate agents, bankers, educators and manufacturers.
Athletic directors and coaches from Mississippi universities have also urged lawmakers to act.
"I understand many view the current flag as a symbol of heritage and Southern pride," country music star Faith Hill, a Mississippi native, tweeted.
But Governor Reeves warned Saturday that changing the flag would not end racism or end divisions in his state.
Bringing the state together, he wrote on Twitter, “will be harder than recovering from tornadoes, harder than historic floods... even harder than battling the Coronavirus.”
