SPLC Action Fund’s Lecia Brooks Responds to the U.S. Army’s Delay in Banning and Removing Confederate Names on Military Assets

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The SPLC Action Fund’s Lecia Brooks released the following statement in response to Army leaders announcing that they will hold off on banning Confederate symbols and renaming installations currently named for Confederate generals.

“The systemic racial bias that exists within the Army’s ranks cannot be eliminated without removing all traces of the Confederacy. This includes removing Confederate symbols from its military assets and the renaming of 10 Army posts honoring Confederate generals. Anything less appears to be a stall tactic by the Army in support of President Trump’s efforts to keep these dehumanizing racist symbols in place.

“The Army, and other branches of the U.S. military, should follow the Marine Corps and Navy in taking action to remove these symbols of hate.

“If the Army refuses to act, we call on Congress, elected officials, and other civilian leaders to take action to remove names and symbols that celebrate a brutal and inhumane past.”

Earlier this month, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) sent letters to the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of the Air Force, the Commandant of the Coast Guard and the National Guard Bureau Chief urging them to remove Confederate symbols from all of their installations in the U.S. and abroad.

This week, the SPLC released an updated version of its Whose Heritage report, identifying nearly 1,800 Confederate monuments, parks, schools, state holidays and other symbols of the Confederacy in public spaces across the South and the nation.