West Point moves to vanquish Confederate symbols from campus
FILE - This photo provided by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York shows the three bronze panels at one of the entrances to Bartlett Hall, at West Point, that depicts the history of the United States. A commission created by Congress recommended that multiple historical reminders tied to Confederate officers during the Civil War be removed — many honoring Robert E. Lee, one of the academy's most famous graduates. And in the coming days, the U.S. Military Academy will begin taking down memorials commemorating figures of the Confederacy. (U.S. Military Academy at West Point via AP, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Military Academy in West Point will begin taking down memorials commemorating figures of the Confederacy.
During the holiday break, a portrait of Gen. Robert E. Lee dressed in his Confederate uniform will be removed from the school’s library, where it has been hanging since the 1950s. It will also remove the stone bust of Lee at Reconciliation Plaza. And Lee’s quote about honor will be stripped from the academy’s Honor Plaza.
The moves are part of a Department of Defense directive issued in October ordering the academy to address racial injustice and do away with installations that “commemorate or memorialize the Confederacy.”