US lawmakers seek change to Confederate-named bases

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - A bipartisan pair of US congressmen introduced legislation Thursday to rename US military bases honoring Confederate leaders in a rebuff to President Donald Trump.

The bill from Democrat Anthony Brown and Republican Don Bacon would establish a process to rename the bases within a year, according to a joint statement released.

It would form the National Commission on Modernizing Military Installation Designations, which would be comprised of individuals appointed by the US military service branches and lawmakers tasked with reviewing and recommending new names for military installations and department facilities.

“The symbols and individuals that our military honors matter. It matters to the Black soldier serving at an installation honoring the name of a leader who fought to preserve slavery and oppression. It matters to the culture of inclusivity and unity needed for our military to get the job done,” said congressman Anthony Brown, a black 30-year Army veteran. “Removing these names will be another step in an honest accounting of our history and an expression that we continue to strive to form a more perfect union.”

Bacon, who is white and a 29-year Air Force veteran, said "it is only right that our installations bear the names of military heroes who represent the best ideals of our Republic."

The Confederacy, a group of southern states, seceded from the US to maintain the legal right to own black people as slaves, sparking the deadliest war in American history.

Traditional estimates place the number of Americans who died during the 1860s Civil War at about 620,000, but some studies have suggested the true toll could be as high as 750,000.

The introduction of the bill comes one day after Trump declared his administration "will not even consider" the idea of renaming the bases, claiming, "Our history as the Greatest Nation in the World will not be tampered with. Respect our Military!"

Roughly 10 bases are named after Confederate leaders, including North Carolina's Fort Bragg, Texas' Fort Hood and Fort Benning in Georgia. All are named after prominent confederate generals.

Many were named at the height of what is known as the Lost Cause Movement, which sought to salvage the Confederacy's tattered legacy.

Successive Confederate monuments honoring the separatist movement's leaders have been taken down through official directives and protester actions in the wake of George Floyd's death on May 25.

Video footage of Floyd’s fatal arrest taken by a bystander has prompted mass demonstrations in major cities nationwide against racial injustice and police brutality. Floyd is seen pinned to the ground, his neck compressed by a white Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer's knee.

The officer ignores Floyd's pleas that he cannot breathe, maintaining the position even after he appears to lose consciousness.