New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday demanded the eradication of the names of Confederate generals from street signs at the Fort Hamilton military base in Brooklyn in response to the violence in Charlottesville.
I just asked the acting secretary of the @USArmy to remove confederate names from the streets of Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) August 16, 2017
“Symbols of slavery and racism have no place in New York,” the governor wrote in a letter to acting US secretary of the Army, Ryan McCarthy, WTKR reports. “Unlike President Trump, we stand together to say that there are not many sides to hatred and bigotry; they do not belong in our communities and must be denounced for what they are. Renaming these streets will send a clear message that in New York, we stand against intolerance and racism, whether it be insidious and hidden or obvious and intentional.” (RELATED: Dem Rep Flips After Army Refuses To Rename Confederate Street Names On Base)
New York Democratic Rep. Yvette Clarke has previously demanded the renaming of General Lee Avenue and Stonewall Jackson Drive, which are located in her Brooklyn district.
Senior official Diane Randon told Clarke, according to WTKR, “the significance and sensitivity of the issue,” but said renaming efforts would be “controversial and divisive … contrary to the nation’s original intent in naming these streets, which was the spirit of reconciliation.”
Clarke called the response “nonsense.”
An Army official told CNN that present policy states that naming military streets “for a soldier who holds a place of significance in our military history. The great generals of the Civil War, Union and Confederate, are an inextricable part of our military history.”
Cuomo also called for Confederate statues to be removed from the City University of New York hall of Great Americans.
Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson will be removed from the CUNY hall of great Americans because New York stands against racism.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) August 17, 2017