President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would “not even consider” renaming Army bases that honor Confederate leaders and soldiers who fought to protect slavery and uphold white supremacy.
According to CNN, US Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday they’re open to holding a “bipartisan conversation” about renaming almost a dozen army bases and installations bearing the names of Confederate military commanders.
However, Trump was quick to shoot the idea down.
“The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars. Therefore, my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations,” Trump tweeted Wednesday.“These Monumental and very Powerful Bases have become part of a Great American Heritage, and a… ….history of Winning, Victory, and Freedom.”
Peaceful protests calling for the end of racial inequality and police brutality have dominated the headlines for the last two weeks after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others. The protests have pushed many to reconsider the statues and army bases named after confederate soldiers and figures.
Earlier this month, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced the state will remove the Robert E. Lee Statue from Richmond’s Monument Avenue. Statues of Christopher Columbus in Richmond, Boston, and Minnesota have also been damaged and defaced since the protests began.
“We stand in solidarity with black and brown communities that are tired of being murdered by an out-of-control, militarized, and violent police force,” the Richmond Indigenous Society, said in a statement to The New York Times Wednesday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to the leaders of the Joint Committee on the Library on Wednesday requesting they take action to remove eleven statues of confederate soldiers and officials from the U.S. Capitol.
“As I have said before, the halls of Congress are the very heart of our democracy. The statues in the Capitol should embody our highest ideals as Americans, expressing who we are and who we aspire to be as a nation,” Pelosi wrote. “Monuments to men who advocated cruelty and barbarism to achieve such a plainly racist end are a grotesque affront to these ideals. Their statues pay homage to hate, not heritage. They must be removed.”