Arkansas lawmakers vote down bill honoring Native Americans instead of Confederacy on state flag

Arkansas lawmakers voted down a bill Wednesday to honor Native Americans instead of the Confederacy on their state flag, Arkansas Online reports.

The bill was reportedly voted down 8-5 in the House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee, falling short of the 10 votes needed to pass out of the 20-member panel.

{mosads}The legislation would not change the flag itself, but instead amend language in the state’s Constitution to indicate that the star above the word “Arkansas” represents Native-American nations.

That star currently signifies that Arkansas was part of the Confederacy.

Republican committee members argued that redefining the star on the flag was a slippery slope to remove other homages to the Confederacy.

The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Charles Blake (D), pushed back on that idea.

“One could argue that the star was not added to the flag to honor the Confederate States of America,” Blake said, according to Arkansas Online.

“The star, in context of the time of 1924 and that period, was added to add presence and prominence of white supremacy in the state of Arkansas.”

According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, the Klu Klux Klan was at the height of its power in Arkansas near that period.

Lawmakers in a number of states have pushed to remove monuments, plaques and other homages to the Confederacy. Last month, a Confederate plaque was removed from the Texas state Capitol following a bipartisan effort from state lawmakers.