A meaningful symbolism

Military members of color should not have to serve at bases named for oppressors

The time is right to rename military bases named for Confederate leaders. Despite President Donald Trump’s opposition, the current spotlight on the nation’s pervasive racism has prompted many Americans, including members of Congress of both parties, to support the idea.

After all, does it make sense to have U.S. Army bases named in honor of men who were traitors to the United States, who led troops in a war against this country? Does it make sense to honor men who chose to lead troops in a war that was, at its core, about preserving the institution of slavery? Is it right to send Black people who join the military to train at bases named for those who fought to defend slavery? People of color today make up about 43% of our all-volunteer military.

Honoring the Confederate generals must have made some pragmatic sense at the time the 10 military installations were built in six states that had rejoined the union after the Confederacy lost the war. The bases were mostly built in the 20th century, when the United States was growing as an international military presence. Some were built during the World War II era.

The Army needed land for sprawling bases, and the Southern states, still largely rural, had plenty of room. It was the Jim Crow era, the period when many of the Confederate statues now being hauled down were erected. Local leaders wanted naming rights in exchange for making the land available, and the Army gave in.

That’s why there are three Army bases in Virginia named for Confederate generals, including George Pickett, whose disastrous charge contributed to the Union victory at Gettysburg, a major turning point in the war. The others are named for A.P. Hill, who was killed at Petersburg, and Robert E. Lee.

That’s why the huge base in North Carolina that’s home to the 82nd Airborne and the Army’s special forces is named for Braxton Bragg, even though he was relieved of command after losing the battle for Chattanooga.

There has been talk of renaming the 10 bases at other times when violence brought the lingering racism in the United States into the news, including when a woman was killed during a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville and when a white supremacist killed nine people in a Charleston, South Carolina, church.

The effort hadn’t gained much traction, but the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has proved to be the tipping point on numerous areas of concern involving race.

Across the country, statues glorifying the nation’s ugly history of slavery are coming down. It’s time, too, to stop honoring the men who led the fight to preserve slavery.

Removing statues and renaming Army bases are symbolic gestures. But symbols matter, and those actions might help us move away from the legacy of slavery that is a toxic stain on our nation. It’s been 400 years since slaves were first brought into the Virginia colony, 155 years since Lee’s surrender at Appomattox effectively ended the Civil War and more than 50 years since the Civil Rights movement swept the country.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper and others, realizing the time was here, had been discussing renaming the bases when Trump took to Twitter to say his administration would “not even consider” such a move.

Then within days, as the idea gained support in Congress, White House officials resumed talking about a process for renaming the bases.

Surely the United States, with its rich military history, can come up with more deserving people to honor than Confederate generals. One idea that’s been floated is to recognize Medal of Honor recipients. Tuskegee Airmen and other pioneers in equal rights for Black troops might be considered.

It’s time to leave racism behind and work for genuine inclusiveness and equality. Changing the names of those bases would be a symbolic gesture setting the tone for continuing efforts to end racism within the military and throughout society.