Updated April 24, 2026, 11:55 a.m. CT
Mississippi is considered one of solely a handful of states that still pauses authorities work to honor the Confederacy — a practice that has survived many years of debate, repeated legislative challenges and shifting public attitudes.
Gov. Tate Reeves has once more declared April Confederate Heritage Month, and the state will observe Confederate Memorial Day on the final Monday of the month, giving public staff the day without work.
Several Southern states proceed to mark Confederate Memorial Day in some kind. Only 4 still acknowledge it as a vacation for state employees, based on state data and historic accounts.
In Mississippi, lawmakers have made a number of makes an attempt to finish the observance or substitute it with Juneteenth, a federal vacation marking the top of slavery within the United States. Those efforts have repeatedly failed.
Each yr, the vacation attracts renewed debate. The Clarion Ledger recurrently receives messages arguing that Mississippi’s Confederate troopers had been merely answering a name to defend their state. While particular person motivations assorted and plenty of troopers didn’t personal enslaved folks, historians agree on the broader explanation for the warfare: slavery.
Here’s what we find out about Confederate Memorial Day, when Mississippi observes it and which different Confederate holidays stay on the state calendar.
What is Confederate Memorial Day?
Confederate Memorial Day was created in Georgia on April 26, 1866, based on the History Channel. It honored the deaths of Southern troopers on the primary anniversary of the day that Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston surrendered the Army of Tennessee to Union Gen. William Sherman at Bennett Place, North Carolina.
Gen. Robert E. Lee had surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant two weeks earlier at Appomattox Court House. Johnston, nonetheless, stayed within the subject with nearly 90,000 troopers even after Lee laid down arms.
The holiday later unfold throughout the South, with states selecting dates tied to native occasions or leaders.
When will Mississippi celebrate Confederate Memorial Day in 2026?
Mississippi state offices will close on Monday, April 27, 2026, as part of the official holiday calendar.
Bills proposed dropping Mississippi Confederate Memorial Day
Lawmakers have repeatedly launched laws to take away Confederate Memorial Day from Mississippi’s checklist of state holidays.
During the 2026 session, a invoice proposed changing the vacation with Juneteenth Freedom Day. Senate Bill 2574 died in committee.
The invoice was co-sponsored by Sen. Derrick T. Simmons, who has launched comparable laws almost yearly throughout his tenure. In 2024, Simmons stated he believed Mississippi may be prepared for the change after voters changed the state flag in 2020. The earlier design included the Confederate battle emblem.
A separate Senate decision reaffirming Confederate Memorial Day was referred to committee and does not seem to have superior through the session.
Why did Mississippi be a part of the Confederacy?
Mississippi formally seceded from the United States on Jan. 15, 1861, based on the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
The state’s Declaration of Immediate Causes leaves little ambiguity concerning the cause. The doc explicitly identifies slavery as the first motivation for leaving the Union, stating that Mississippi’s place was “thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery.”
The phrases “slavery” or “slave” seem repeatedly all through the doc, together with references to the financial dependence on pressured labor.
Which states still honor Confederate Memorial Day?
Confederate Memorial Day is still celebrated throughout a lot of the South. Not all locations deal with it as a authorities vacation.
Mississippi observes it on the final Monday in April. Alabama and Florida additionally mark it on the fourth Monday in April, however solely Alabama closes state workplaces.
Texas observes its state vacation on Jan. 19.
North and South Carolina acknowledge May 10, with state workplaces closing solely in South Carolina.
Kentucky and Tennessee honor Civil War useless on June 3, with Tennessee calling it Confederate Decoration Day.
Mississippi celebrates three Confederate holidays
Confederate Memorial Day is considered one of three state holidays in Mississippi tied to the Confederacy.
When the federal Martin Luther King Jr. vacation was adopted within the Eighties, Mississippi lawmakers added it to an present vacation honoring Gen. Robert E. Lee. Many Southern states initially adopted that mannequin however later separated the observances. Most, together with Lee’s residence state of Virginia, have since stopped celebrating Lee’s birthday.
Mississippi has to date declined to take action. Alabama is now the one different state that continues to mix the 2 holidays.
Mississippi additionally observes a state vacation honoring Confederate President Jefferson Davis, paired with Memorial Day on the finish of May. Alabama celebrates it on the primary Monday in June.
2026 Mississippi state holidays
According to the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration, there are 10 paid holidays for state companies. Listed holidays:
- Thursday, Jan. 1: New Year’s Day
- Monday, Jan. 19: Martin Luther King Jr.’s and Robert E. Lee’s birthdays
- Monday, Feb. 16: Washington’s Birthday
- Monday, April 27: Confederate Memorial Day
- Monday, May 25: Memorial Day
- Friday, July 3: Independence Day
- Monday, Sept. 7: Labor Day
- Wednesday, Nov. 11: Armistice or Veterans Day
- Thursday, Nov. 26: Thanksgiving Day
- Friday, Dec. 25: Christmas Day
Contributing: Grant McLaughlin, C. A. Bridges
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with USA TODAY NETWORK. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.
