Navy to erase civil rights leaders' names from ships
Category: News & Politics
Via: john-russell • last year • 10 commentsBy: Jennifer Bowers Bahney (Raw Story)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
In its continued attempt to erase diversity, equity, and inclusion from U.S. history, the Trump administration is planning to rename several navy ships currently titled for civil rights leaders like Harvey Milk, Thurgood Marshall and Harriet Tubman, among others, CBS News reported.
The first ship to be renamed, according to documents reviewed by CBS, is the USNS Harvey Milk, which honors the navy veteran and the first openly gay politician in California's history. Milk was assassinated while serving on San Francisco's board of supervisors in 1978 and became an LGBTQ icon.
CBS News noted that the proposed timeline for renaming the ship comes during Pride Month, "the monthlong observance of the LGBTQ+ community that also coincides with the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising of 1969."
Also on the Navy's renaming "recommended list" are the USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, USNS Harriet Tubman, USNS Dolores Huerta, USNS Lucy Stone, USNS Cesar Chavez and USNS Medgar Evers.
CBS News also found "that a December 2024 web article from Naval Sea Systems Command about the laying of the keel for the future USNS Thurgood Marshall has been deleted."
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi told CBS News in statement, "The reported decision by the Trump Administration to change the names of the USNS Harvey Milk and other ships in the John Lewis-class is a shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers for all to chase the American Dream."
She added, "Our military is the most powerful in the world - but this spiteful move does not strengthen our national security or the "warrior" ethos. Instead, it is a surrender of a fundamental American value: to honor the legacy of those who worked to build a better country."
CBS cited the navy memo that said "the renaming of naval ships was to realign the U.S. military with Trump administration priorities of 'reestablishing the warrior culture.'"
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still wasnt enough to save her name on a ship
By the way, there were still two naval vessels named after the Confederacy until roughly two years ago when the names were changed during the Biden administration. Does anyone doubt that if Trump were president then we would still have two ( or more) Navy vessels named after confederates?
Milk, Tubman, Marshall and all the leaders in the civil rights movement have secured their place in history through their indelible contributions…regardless of a ship, or a fort, or a building bearing their name.
trump, to the contrary, is all-consumed with plastering his name and likeness on everything in some vainglorious, infantile attempt to portray his imagined greatness. He has also cemented his place in history…regardless of a ship, or a fort, or a building bearing his name…and it is nothing approaching greatness, as he or his delusional followers will have you believe.
One of his lunatics wants to rename the DC rapid transit system after Trump.
It is possible Trump has never taken public transportation in his life.
I’ll admit that some of these people, while historically significant, are not necessarily people I would expect to name a ship after. But then we do have a lot of ships, so I suppose you have to cast a wide net, no pun intended.
The cancellations I find the most baffling are Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. You don’t want to name a ship after a Supreme Court Justice?
With as wide as that net would need to be for the number of ships, I can totally understand why many civil rights leaders and prominent Americans names have been selected. But if they must be renamed to have some sort of constancy with military norms, I just hope they don't decide to rename them after any of those fucking disgusting racist piece of shit rightwing conservative confederate generals and confederate soldiers. I'm sure that will be the Republican knee jerk reaction and desire to rename them after their Southern conservative confederate heroes because nothing says modern rightwing conservative Republican than changing the name of a ship from USNS Harriet Tubman to USNS Nathan Bedford Forrest. But they're only doing it so we don't forget confederate history, not because they secretly agree with and support confederate ideals... /wink wink /nudge nudge...
I get that maybe some people would have chosen certain names over others. That’s fine. But unless there is something really awful about an existing choice in retrospect, why change it, except to be mean?
This shouldn't be that difficult, just name ships after prominent Naval and Marine servicemen. Army bases and Air Bases the same. You didn't serve, Fuck you on a military honor. And before someone asks, yes this includes Presidents who didn't serve either.
The Navy represents all of America, not just those who served in the Navy. So we have always named ships after more than just prominent sailors. States, cities, important government and social leaders, even abstract ideas that we value (Independence, e.g.) have had ships named for them. Reasonable people can disagree on the best choice at the time the choice is made, but undoing the name of a ship should come with a really strong reason. I don’t see a strong reason here.