Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on a letter she and three colleagues sent to Secretary of the Army Robert M. Speer urging him to rename two streets at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn that are currently named for prominent Confederate Army generals, General Lee Avenue and Stonewall Jackson Drive.

“When the City of New Orleans recently removed its statues of Robert E. Lee and other Confederate generals from the public square, that community confronted its history, recognizing – in the words of Mayor Mitch Landrieu – that ‘the Confederacy was on the wrong side of humanity.’ We are asking the Army to accept the same conclusion. The commemoration of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson directly insults the many thousands of Brooklyn residents who are descendants of slaves held in bondage, as well as men and women of color who have in the past and continue to serve in the United States Armed Forces at Fort Hamilton. These generals, who disavowed their loyalty to the United States, are not representative of either Brooklyn or the United States Army. There are many qualified individuals from Brooklyn and across our beloved nation who have contributed enormously to the development of the United States Army and who therefore deserve commemoration, as alternatives to the two Confederate generals.”

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