More than 50 years after the landmark Civil Rights Act passed, Nebraska finally outlawed slavery and Mississippi will replace its Confederate-themed flag

• Slavery and racism were challenged on the ballot Tuesday night when two measures challenging outdated symbols and laws were passed in Nebraska and Mississippi.
• In Nebraska, voters supported a measure than removed an exemption from the anti-slavery law that allowed the practice as a form of punishment.
• In Mississippi, citizens voted to replace their state flag — a version of the Confederate flag — with a banner bearing a magnolia.

It's been more than 50 years since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, but it wasn't until Tuesday that two US states finally voted to outlaw slavery in its entirety and replace a state tribute to the Confederacy.

Involuntary slavery was outlawed in Nebraska in 1875, but an exception to the law still allowed slavery as a form of punishment.

As of Tuesday, nearly 70% of Nebraska voters supported Amendment 1, an effort to remove that clause.

The other 31.8%, which is comprised of more than 270,000, voters, hoped to keep that limited form of slavery as an option.

In October, Sen. Mike Groene expressed his opposition to the amendment in a column for the The North Plate Telegraph, claiming it would allow convicts in the state to ask to be paid for "making their bed."

"Our state constitution actually mirrors the wording of the 13th Amendment to our US Constitution, which states, 'Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction,'" he wrote.

"Today when a judge gives a sentence of community service, making a young vandal clean up his graffiti, or when a convict is required to attend rehabilitation classes as a condition of release from confinement, both could be considered involuntary servitude or a form of slavery. If Amendment 1 passes, taxpayers may be forced to pay convicts a minimum wage to make their bed."

In Mississippi, voters supported a ballot measure to remove a version of the Confederate battle flag from its state banner, replacing it with a magnolia.

The state Department of Archives and History said in a statement told the Mississippi Free Press that the new design represents the hospitality of residents.

Mississippi has the highest Black population per capita of any state in the US, the Free Press reported.

"The New Magnolia also represents Mississippi's sense of hope and rebirth, as the Magnolia often blooms more than once and has a long blooming season," a statement to the Free Press said. "The New Magnolia is sleek and updated to represent the forward progression of Mississippi."

As of Tuesday night, the new flag — which was designed by graphic artist Rocky Vaughan — got nearly 70 percent of the vote, NBC News reported.

The Civil War had ended more than three decades before Mississippi created a flag honoring the Confederacy.

In 2001, Mississippi held a referendum to change its state flag, but nearly 65% of residents voted to keep the Confederate design in place.

A wave of unrest and anti-racism protests around the US rekindled efforts to leave the Confederacy in the past.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill in June to remove the flag's Confederate imagery, following approval from the Mississippi House and Senate.