West Point, the revered military academy in upstate New York, should consider removing a plaque that pays homage to the Klu Klux Klan from its campus, a Congressional panel suggested in a new report.
A bronze plaque adorning the entrance to Bartlett Hall Science Center shows a man wearing a cape and a gun with the title of the hate group underneath. according to a report by the so-called Naming Commission released on Monday.
The commission is tasked with making recommendations on the renaming of Confederate monuments on military property. The report said it could not outright call for a removal of the KKK decoration because it is not specifically linked to the rebel army.
However, it noted that “there are clearly ties in the KKK to the Confederacy,” and called on the Department of Defense to “create a standard disposition requirement for such assets.”
After the Civil War, the white supremacist group fought against the progress of Reconstruction in the South by terrorizing and killing black people and other minorities. It had 4 million members by the 1920s and significant political power according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The commission asked West Point to change the names of 12 buildings, roads, and gates that were named after General Robert E. Lee or other Confederate leaders. It also recommended that portraits and photos of Lee as well as “individuals who willingly served under him” be removed.
A role call that included names of graduates that fought for secession at Cullum Hall at the Orange County military academy “may remain as structured” due to its non-commemorative posture, the group said.
The changes would cost taxpayers about $425,000, with $300,000 alone needed to move monuments and engravings at Reconciliation Plaza.
West Point did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.
The commission also told the military to rename several assets at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
The commission advised the military to remove the KKK plaque from science building at US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. West Point was first reported by New York Post .
