Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today sent the
following letter calling on Acting Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy to
remove the names of Confederate Generals from New York City streets.
Secretary of Army
101 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310-0101
August
16, 2017
Dear Acting Secretary McCarthy:
On August 7, the U.S. Army denied
requests by community leaders and legislators to remove the names of two
Confederate Generals from streets on its Fort Hamilton Army Base, claiming that
renaming the streets would be "controversial and divisive." The
streets - Stonewall Jackson Drive and General Lee Avenue - are named for
leaders in the Confederate army who fought to protect slavery.
Given the events of this week, including
the violence and terrorism perpetrated by white supremacists in Charlottesville
and the resulting emboldening of the voices of Nazis and white supremacists, I
now strongly urge the U.S. Army to reconsider its decision and I call on them
to rename these streets.
The events of Charlottesville and the
tactics of white supremacists are a poison in our national discourse, and every
effort must be made to combat them.
Symbols of slavery and racism have no
place in New York. In our state, we condemn the language and violence of
white supremacy in no uncertain terms. 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.
Sincerely,
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
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