Ally Action Project Week 5: Confederate Memorial Action

Confederate memorials are an important discussion, and we have covered in the past how they are racist, microaggressions, and represent white supremacy. We wanted to dive deeper into the issue this week and find out more about why the US has so many. We researched and found that over the past ten years alone, Americans have contributed over $40M in tax revenue to fund Confederate memorials. Many of us would find that fact objectionable, since we do not support the white supremest ideals that they stand for. We also discovered that of the 832 Confederate monuments in the US, 756 were built in 1900 or after. The busiest building periods for these monuments have been in 1900, due to Jim Crow laws suppressing black people, and in the 1960’s, during the US Civil Rights movement. These spikes in the number of Confederate statues erected was to intimidate minorities and depict white supremacy, proving that the monuments have been added as an attempt at rewriting history and trying to normalize Confederacy principles as southern culture. There are even monuments that depict with slaves loyal to the Confederate cause by wearing Confederate uniforms as though they would be fighting against the Union forces to stay enslaved. The “lost cause” ideology these statues convey are a false retelling of a war for states rights. The largest Confederate monument, finished in 1972 on Stone Mountain, was partially funded in 1925 by a US Mint half dollar commemorating the plans. The US government, the same institution that in 1865 defeated the Confederacy, has shamefully participated in the plans of white supremacy groups and has been complicit in their normalization.

We contacted our Senators, and prompted you to advocate for the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021” bill, which included provisions for renaming army bases with Confederate names over the next 3 years. The bill had passed the House already with wide bipartisan support and it did pass in the Senate as well on Thursday 7/23/20. We urged our Senators to protect the provision for rename bases that were named after Confederate traitors.

Finally, we looked at the 10 Army bases that were to be renamed, and were contemplating better representatives to enshrine. The bases, locations, who they are named for, and who we recommend are:

Fort Lee in VA named for Robert  E. Lee could be renamed for Harriet Tubman, who escaped slavery in 1849 and served in the Union army during the Civil War. She was as a cook, nurse, spy, and was the first woman in US history to lead a military expedition.

Fort A.P. Hill in VA named for Ambrose Powell Hill Jr. could be renamed for General Ann E. Dunwoody, who was the first female 4-star general in the U.S. Armed Forces, deputy of Army Materiel Command, deputy chief of staff of the Army for G-4 (Logistics), and to command the U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command.

Fort Pickett in VA named for George Pickett could be renamed for Benjamin O. Davis Sr., who became the first African-American to rise to the rank of Brigadier General in 1940.

Fort Bragg in NC named for Braxton Bragg could be renamed for General Roscoe Robinson Jr., who was a battalion commander in Vietnam, received the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, 11 Air Medals, two Silver Stars, and went on to become a 4-star general who command the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.

Fort Gordon in GA named for John Brown Gordon could be renamed for Henry Ossian Flipper, who was born a slave and became first African American to graduate from the US Military Academy at West Point.

Fort Benning in GA named for Henry Benning could be renamed for Cathay Williams, who was the first black female to join the Army in 1866 as a Buffalo Solider.

Fort Rucker in AL named for Edmund Rucker could be renamed for General Colin Powell, who was a 4-star general who began his service in Vietnam and rose to become Commander in Chief of Forces Command (FORSCOM) and later Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Camp Beauregard in LA named for P.G.T. Beauregard could be renamed for General Johnnie E. Wilson, who rose from an enlisted soldier in 1961 to was become a 4 star general as he mastered supply chains and logistics that supported the Army with critical supplies during several wars.

Fort Polk in LA named for Leonidas Polk could be renamed for Corporal Joseph Pierce, the only Chinese Union soldier recorded who served in the 14th Connecticut Infantry Regiment in the Battles of Antietam and who died at Gettysburg.

Fort Hood in TX named for John Bell Hood could be renamed for Charles Chibitty, who was the last surviving Comanche “code talkers”, landed in France during WWII, and fought at the Battle of the Bulge.

We are inspired by the House and Senate passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, and will be tracking the base renaming to help advocate for minority inclusion during this process. Thank you to all allies that have been creating your own change this week to help advance equality!