Business InsiderMinister Kirsten John Foy standing with other National Action Network leaders at Fort Hamilton.The Rev. Al Sharpton's civil rights group, the National Action Network, wants the US military to rename all of its facilities that honor Confederate Army figures including a street named for Robert E. Lee on Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York.
Sharpton will be holding a vigil in front of Fort Hamilton on Saturday. Ahead of that event, Minister Kirsten John Foy, the National Action Network's northeast regional director, held a press conference in front of the base on Thursday.
Foy said it is "unacceptable" that the main street running through the base is named "General Lee Avenue." He noted Fort Hamilton's slogan dubs the base the "face of the United States Army in New York."
"Fort Hamilton is the face of the US Army here in New York and the face of the US Army here in New York is General Robert E. Lee," said Foy. "That is unacceptable as a New Yorker, as an American, and as a person of good conscience."
Business Insider highlighted the existence of General Lee Avenue on Monday. The street is about a half mile long and is the main street on the base. Lee served at Fort Hamilton in the 19th century before he left the US Army. He went on to lead the Confederate troops during the Civil War.
The June 17 shooting at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina that left nine people dead has reignited a nationwide debate over Confederate symbols on public lands. Dylann Roof, the alleged shooter, has been linked to a website that featured a racist manifesto and photos of him posing with Confederate imagery.
In addition to calling for General Lee Avenue to be renamed, Foy said the National Action Network is pushing for the military to renamed all of its other bases that honor Confederate figures. There are at least ten bases named for Confederate leaders. Military bases are on federally owned land that is outside of local jurisdiction.
"We will be presenting an official letter to the commander of this base and then sending it up the chain asking that they remove all the remnants of the Confederacy," Foy said. "Taxpayer dollars are supporting a US military that honors the Confederacy."
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