{"id":23419,"date":"2022-09-02T09:15:44","date_gmt":"2022-09-02T16:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=23419"},"modified":"2022-09-02T09:15:46","modified_gmt":"2022-09-02T16:15:46","slug":"west-points-ku-klux-klan-plaque-should-be-removed-commission-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2022\/09\/02\/west-points-ku-klux-klan-plaque-should-be-removed-commission-says\/","title":{"rendered":"West Point\u2019s Ku Klux Klan plaque should be removed, commission says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Panel is tasked with recommending which US military assets should be renamed, to remove associations with Confederates<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aerial
Aerial view of West Point in New York state. Photograph: Nicolas RUNG\/Aero\/Alamy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Martin Pengelly<\/a> in New York<\/p>\n\n\n\n

@MartinPengelly<\/a> Thu 1 Sep 2022 07.00 BST (TheGuardian.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A bronze plaque commemorating the Ku Klux Klan should be removed from the science centre at West Point, a congressional commission said, even though it falls outside the panel\u2019s remit because the racist terror group was formed after the American civil war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Former<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Naming Commission<\/a> was established in March 2021, in the aftermath of the police murder of George Floyd and the protests for racial justice it inspired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The eight-member panel is tasked with recommending which US military<\/a> assets should be renamed, to remove associations with Confederates who fought to maintain slavery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May, the commissioners released part one of their report, concerning the renaming of military bases \u2013 a process opposed<\/a> by conservatives including Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For one example, the commission said Fort Benning, a major infantry base in Georgia named for a Confederate general, should be renamed<\/a> Fort Hal and Julie Moore, after a Vietnam-era soldier and his wife, who changed the way the US army notifies next of kin when soldiers die in combat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In part two of its report, published<\/a> this week, the commission considered the US Military Academy, at West Point in New York, and the US Naval Academy, at Annapolis in Maryland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding West Point, the report said: \u201cOn the triptych at the entrance to Bartlett Hall, there is a mounted marker bearing the words, \u2018Ku Klux Klan\u2019. The marker falls outside the remit of the commission. However, there are clearly ties in the KKK to the Confederacy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Klan was founded in Tennessee in 1865<\/a>, in the aftermath of the defeat of the slave-holding south. Nathan Bedford Forrest<\/a>, a general whose troops massacred Black Union soldiers at Fort Pillow in April 1864, was one of the first Klan leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, defines<\/a> \u201cthree periods of significant [Klan] strength in American history\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are: \u201cThe reconstruction era of the 19th century, when newly freed slaves began to hold office and own land; the 1920s, when the country\u2019s fierce anti-immigrant mood drove Klan membership into the millions; and, finally, at the height of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, when Blacks and other minorities began to demand equal treatment under the law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Naming Commission \u201cencourage[d] the secretary of defense to address DoD assets that highlight the KKK\u201d. The secretary, Lloyd Austin, is a West Point graduate. He is also African American.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two other panels on the West Point triptych \u201cspecifically commemorate people who voluntarily served in the Confederacy\u201d, including Robert E Lee, Jeb Stuart and Thomas \u201cStonewall\u201d Jackson. The commission said those panels \u201cshould be modified to remove the names and images\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ty Seidule, a commissioner, retired brigadier general and emeritus West Point history professor now teaching at Hamilton College<\/a>, who wrote a book about the academy and its ties to Lee<\/a>, the most famous Confederate general, told the New York Times the Klan plaque was included in the report \u201cbecause we thought it was wrong\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aundrea L Matthews, a former West Point arts director, said it was not clear how the plaque came to hang in Bartlett Hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was shocking for most people to see,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthews is president of the Buffalo Soldiers Association of West Point<\/a>, which commemorates Black cavalrymen. She said the academy had made progress on diversity, including erecting a statue of a Buffalo Soldier<\/a> by athletic fields named in their honour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commission recommended renaming 12 West Point assets. Five, including a barracks and a gate, were named for Lee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A West Point spokesperson said: \u201cAs a values-based institution, we are fully committed to creating a climate where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Panel is tasked with recommending which US military assets should be renamed, to remove associations with Confederates Martin Pengelly in New York @MartinPengelly Thu 1 Sep 2022 07.00 BST (TheGuardian.com) A bronze plaque commemorating the Ku Klux Klan should be removed from the science centre at West Point, a congressional commission… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23419"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23419"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23420,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23419\/revisions\/23420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}