JACKSON (AP) — Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has again proclaimed April to be Confederate Heritage Month.

The proclamation does not specifically mention slavery, and is similar to ones previously issued by Republican Bryant. Other Mississippi governors, Democrat and Republican, have made similar proclamations.

“As I’ve said in the past, I believe Mississippi’s history deserves study and reflection, no matter how unpleasant or complicated the matter may be,” Bryant said in a statement Monday. “Like other governors before me who issued similar proclamations for over the last two decades, I also believe gaining insight from our mistakes and successes will help us move forward.”

Bryant proclaimed last October to be Racial Reconciliation Month, at the request of Mission Mississippi, a Christian group that has been working since 1993 to break down barriers in a state with a troubled history of race relations. The state’s population is about 60 percent white and 38 percent black.