Ole Miss just took down the state flag amid backlash over its Confederate symbol

The Mississippi State flag
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The University of Mississippi removed the state flag from campus Monday morning amid backlash from students and faculty over the Confederate battle symbol in its corner, according to a news release.

"The University of Mississippi community came to the realization years ago that the Confederate battle flag did not represent many of our core values, such as civility and respect for others," interim Chancellor Morris Stocks said in a statement.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.