Shortly after President Trump announced he would send troops to Afghanistan, Brooklyn’s Fort Hamilton Army Base yesterday came under a siege of criticism.
Congress members Yvette D. Clarke (D-Crown Heights, Flatbush, East Flatbush, Brownsville, Sheepshead Bay) Hakeem Jeffries (D-Central Brooklyn, Coney Island, Queens) and Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn, LES, Queens) along with nearly 30 protesters called on the Department of the Army to rename General Lee Ave. and Stonewall Jackson Dr. during a rally yesterday at John Paul Jones Park at 101st and Fourth Ave., in Bay Ridge.
The nationwide movement to remove Confederate emblems continues to grow following events in Charlottesville, VA where violence erupted between white supremacist groups and protesters.
“The city council in Charlottesville and the mayor realized that a public monument to a man who represents white supremacy – and nothing else – was simply not acceptable in 2017,” said Clarke. “We call upon the Army to reach the same determination.”
This June, Clarke sent a letter to the army requesting the renaming of the two streets. The Office of the Assistant Secretary Diane M. Randon, shot down the request stating any efforts to remove memorialization on Fort Hamilton would be controversial and divisive.
Clarke has since sponsored legislation requiring the Secretary of Defense to change the name of any installation and property that took up Arms against the United States during the American Civil War. Velazquez and Jeffries are co-sponsors of the bill, Honoring Real Patriots Act of 2017.
“The Civil War is over, white supremacy lost,” said Jeffries. There is no room for shrines to the Confederacy.”
Justin Brannan and the Rev. Khader El-Yateem, Democratic candidates vying for the 43rd Council District seat, were also at the park to show their support.
“This is a very important and significant moment in our country,” said Brannan. “It’s not about erasing history. That’s why we have history books. This is the time when people need to stand up –– especially local leaders –– to take an unyielding position against racism, any kind of bigotry and against white supremacy.”
Last week at a candidate’s forum, Brannan was met with some jeers when he referred to President Trump’s reluctance to identify certain hate groups to which he responded at yesterday’s event, “The fact that I was booed for saying we need to call out racism in 2017, just showed how much work we have to do.”
But not everyone came in support of the cause to denounce Confederate named emblems. Perennial protester, Gary Phaneuf, 61, redirected attention when he shouted claims that attendees were pushing an agenda outside of renaming streets in Fort Hamilton. “This is the Trump haters trying to act slick, and they want me to shut up,” yelled Phaneuf. Eventually the crowd responded to the counter-protester repeatedly shouting “No Hate!”
After the press conference, Phaneuf told KCP he was annoyed by the message some protesters were delivering. “It was a partisan gathering and then [supporters] held up signs saying the White House has a Nazi in it. Now that’s a slander and a smear.”
The Staten Island resident went on to say he has fought against skinheads and Nazis in the past and has no problem with the movement to rename streets that honor Confederate generals in Fort Hamilton.
“I voted for Obama twice, yet I have a Trump shirt on,” said Phaneuf.
El-Yateem, at a separate press conference last week, also called for the renaming of the streets in Fort Hamilton. This day, following the raucous outburst, the reverend condemned the intrusive behavior of the counter-protester.
“This is the beauty of America,” said El-Yateem. “People have a right to speak their mind but in a respectful way. What he did was just distracting to what we were trying to achieve today.”
Congress member Dan Donovan (R-Southern Brooklyn, Staten Island), whose district includes the Fort Hamilton Army Base, was not in attendance, but issued the following statement to KCP.
“The Army decided a long time ago on this matter. After a review earlier this year, they again decided to keep the street names in place. I do not think the military’s decision in any way condones slavery or racism — two awful national legacies that I condemn in the strongest possible terms,” said Donovan.
