Mississippi protesters call for end to Confederate holiday

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) — Many state and local government offices were closed Monday for Confederate Memorial Day in Mississippi, which is a holiday set by state law. Some protesters say commemorations of the Confederacy need to stop, calling them enduring signs of systemic racism. Several members of Indivisible Northeast Mississippi held signs denouncing the holiday in front of a Confederate monument at the old Lee County Courthouse in Tupelo. They also criticized Republican Gov. Tate Reeves for proclaiming April as Confederate Heritage Month. Alabama also observed Confederate Memorial Day on Monday, and South Carolina will do so in May.