Let Black Soldiers Know The Military ‘Gets It’: Rename Bases Named After Confederate Generals
As protesters and lawmakers act to remove Confederate monuments and statues from public spaces across the country, Frank Kendall argues that it is also time for the military to rename U.S. bases named for Confederate generals as a necessary first step toward addressing systemic racism.
We are living in extraordinary times. I am reminded of a Bob Dylan song from my misspent youth (before I attended West Point). “The Times They Are A-Changin” spoke about the need for those who didn’t “get it” to get out of the way of those who did. One verse goes, “Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call, don’t stand in the doorway, don’t block up the hall.” Today in response to a growing chorus of voices calling for removing the names of Confederate generals from our military bases, some senators at least (including my West Point classmate Jack Reed) have acted, but the president of the United States stands in the doorway and blocks up the hall. He tweeted that he would not even consider renaming the bases. He is on the wrong side of history and he needs to get out of the way.
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