Should KKK Plaque At West Point Be Removed? [POLL]

NEW YORK — One result of the protests surrounding the killing of George Floyd was a re-examination of symbols and names that honor the Confederacy in the armed forces and military academies across the United States.

Congress created the Naming Commission to look into what should or should not be renamed, such as military bases, or what monuments or artwork should be removed or relocated.

The commission recommended new names for nine military bases and also turned its eyes toward the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

At West Point, the commission reviewed assets that commemorate the Confederacy or those who "voluntarily served with the Confederacy," according to the commission's final report.

It suggested renaming such things as Beauregard Place, which was named for General Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard, who served in the Confederacy, and Lee Barracks, named after Gen. Robert E. Lee, who was commander of the Confederate Army.

The commission also recommended relocating or removing paraphernalia or engraved images of those individuals who voluntarily served in the Confederacy during the Civil War.

One item that the commission said fell outside its mandate was the triptych at the entrance to Bartlett Hall, entitled History of the United States of America. Within the massive bronze display is a plaque on the middle panel commemorating the Ku Klux Klan.

The commission, in its final report, said there are clearly ties in the Klan to the Confederacy, and it encouraged the secretary of defense to address Defense Department assets that highlight the KKK.

If that seems as if the commission might be splitting hairs in its decision, it also decided that images or references to Robert E. Lee when he was a major "reflect his U.S. Army service as superintendent at West Point, and that do not conflate his Confederate service, are historical artifacts and may remain in place."

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-Cold Spring, and 33 of his colleagues in the House of Representatives called on Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth to immediate remove the plaque depicting a hooded Ku Klux Klan figure.

"Our nations' future leaders are educated at West Point," he said in a news release, "and it's outrageous that they must walk past a plaque immortalizing the Ku Klux Klan to get to class."

"Buildings and memorials at West Point should celebrate the values that unite us, not the bigotry of the past," Maloney said. "This symbol of hatred must be immediately removed."

To learn more about the historical triptych, visit the USMA Library’s digital collection.

Now it's your turn to weigh in on the issue. Vote in our unscientific poll and tell us what you think in the comments.