Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 17, 1995                   TAG: 9502210009
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: JACKSON, MISS.                                LENGTH: Short

MISSISSIPPI SENATE VOTES TO END SLAVERY

Mississippi is the only state never to ratify the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which outlawed slavery.

The House will vote next on the amendment, which senators unanimously approved Thursday with no debate.

The state held out when the slavery amendment was adopted in 1865, in part because lawmakers were angry they had not been reimbursed for freed slaves.

``I don't think it's an issue many people here would want to debate,'' said Democratic state Sen. Johnnie Walls.

``It makes you reflect on Mississippi's past, the nation's past ... how hard it has been for black people to overcome slavery.''

Democratic state Sen. Hillman Frazier, said, ``It's never a waste of time to correct a wrong.''

- Associated Press