Fort Bragg to drop Confederate namesake for Fort Liberty, part of US Army base rebranding
Source: Associated Press
Fort Bragg to drop Confederate namesake for Fort Liberty, part of US Army base rebranding
By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
June 2, 2023
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Fort Bragg will shed its Confederate namesake to become Fort Liberty in a Friday ceremony that some veterans view as a small but important step in making the U.S. Army more welcoming to current and prospective Black service members.
The change is part of a broad Department of Defense initiative, motivated by the 2020 George Floyd protests, to rename military installations bearing the name of confederate soldiers.
The Black Lives Matter demonstrations that erupted nationwide after Floyd’s killing by a white police officer, coupled with ongoing efforts to remove Confederate monuments, turned the spotlight on the Army installations. A naming commission created by Congress visited the bases and met with members of the surrounding communities for input.
While other bases will be renamed for Black soldiers, U.S. presidents and trailblazing women, the North Carolina military installation is the only one not carrying the name of a person. Retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule said at a commission meeting last year that Fort Liberty was chosen as the new name because “liberty remains the greatest American value.”
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/army-base-renaming-fort-bragg-liberty-dcfe8bd9eeaa8373d2338bf99a4cac69
