‘We must memorialise the true patriots’
Yvette Clarke presses for renaming of military bases
WASHINGTON, DC:
NEW YORK congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke is pushing for legislation to require all Department of Defense (DOD) property that is named after Confederate leaders to be renamed within one year.
Prompted by the heightened awareness about and desire for change around racism in America, Clarke’s legislation, the Honoring Real Patriots Act, was reintroduced from her 2017 legislation of the same name – this time with 30 original co-sponsors.
Clarke said: “The response across the country to George Floyd’s murder is evidence that this nation wants racial justice. Our country is at a crossroads to move forward from our racist, troubling past by making actual changes, which is why I’ve taken legislative action in introducing the Honoring Real Patriots Act to rename property that’s been glamorising Confederate leaders. Instead, we must memorialise the true patriots, those brave men and women who fought for our country, not against it.”
The Honoring Real Patriots Act would require any military installation or other property under the jurisdiction of the DOD that has been named after any individual who took up arms against the United States during the American Civil War or any individual or entity that supported such efforts to be changed within one year.
Military bases, streets, and buildings are examples of property that would be required to be renamed. Future property would also be required to abide by this naming convention.
In response to the military publicly stating its openness about changing base names, Donald Trump tweeted his support of and commitment to maintaining military bases named after Confederate generals.