The Republican governor has also declared April Genocide Awareness Month. According to the proclamation, genocide is “the systematic destruction of all or a significant part of a racial, ethnic, religious or national group by destroying a group’s political and social institutions, culture, language, national feelings, religion and economic existence, and destroying the personal security, liberty, health, dignity and lives of individuals belonging to the group.”

“I’ve proclaimed April as Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month,” the governor wrote on Twitter. “The systematic destruction of lives has spanned areas and cultures from Armenia to Darfur, the Holodomor to the Holocaust.”

Notably, American slavery has been omitted from Reeves’ definition of genocide.

I’ve proclaimed April as Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month.

The systematic destruction of lives has spanned areas and cultures from Armenia to Darfur, the Holodomor to the Holocaust.

Genocide has no place in society, and we must do everything we can to prevent it. pic.twitter.com/gPia8yYDeD

— Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) March 15, 2022

“For the last 30 years, five Mississippi governors — Republicans and Democrats alike — have signed a proclamation recognizing the statutory state holiday and identifying April as Confederate Heritage Month,” the governor’s office said in a statement. “Gov. Reeves also signed the proclamation because he believes we can all learn from our history.”

Tate Reeves

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