Bill Text: MI SR0128 | 2019-2020 | 100th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: A resolution to express support for a bi-partisan discussion on renaming military installations currently named after Confederate generals.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-3)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-06-23 - Referred To Committee On Families, Seniors, And Veterans [SR0128 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2019-SR0128-Introduced.html
senate Resolution No.128
Senators Hollier, Alexander, Ananich, Chang, Geiss, Bullock, McCann, Brinks, Polehanki, McMorrow, Irwin, McBroom, Wojno, Moss, Hertel, Santana, Schmidt, Bayer and Bumstead offered the following resolution:
Whereas, The United States Civil War pitted northern states against southern states over a range of issues, but the primary division arose due to differences in ideologies regarding state’s rights and slavery. The Confederate Army was created to fight the United States government and preserve southern states rights to own human beings as property. Several military officers resigned their U.S. Army commissions to join the Confederacy; and
Whereas, Michigan had a strong presence in the Civil War and significantly contributed to the success of the Union Army. More than 90,000 Michigan men and 30 regiments of infantry served in the Union Army, engaging Confederate soldiers on more than 800 occasions; and
Whereas, Ten federal military installations in the U.S. are named after Confederate generals, men who led the rebellion against the United States government. The choice of these generals does not reflect military prowess, principles, or inspiration. Several of these men were not only ineffective military leaders but were the living embodiment of the Confederacy; and
Whereas, These installations are home to our service members who have pledged their lives to support and defend the U.S. Constitution. Men and women who live and work at bases named for those who took up arms against the very United States the soldiers pledge to protect; and
Whereas, While the installations are named after individuals, it is impossible to disentangle the racist ideology embedded in Confederate symbols. Similar to the way Confederate flags continue to be touted by white supremacists to incite racial tensions, using names of Confederate soldiers acts as a symbol of the Confederate cause. Continuing to use these names amounts to the same expression of allegiance to the Confederacy as the use of any other Confederate symbol; and
Whereas, Active duty enlistment draws more heavily from the African American population in the U.S. than their makeup in the general population. African American soldiers are assigned to military installations named after men who not only rebelled against the United States government but did so to preserve a tradition of slavery. It is horrific that we ask brave men and women who protect this country to do so under the names of individuals who fought to oppress and enslave them because of their race; and
Whereas, Allowing the names of Confederate generals to remain on federal military installations suggests that the United States supports the Confederacy and all that it stood for: racism, bigotry, and hatred. The names of military installations should not honor a legacy of treason and slavery that embodies the Civil War; and
Whereas, The Army's current naming policy provides that memorializations will honor deceased heroes and distinguished individuals of all races who serve as inspirations to their fellow soldiers. The Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army is open to talking about renaming of military installations; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate, That we support a bi-partisan discussion on renaming military installations currently named after Confederate generals; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the United States Secretary of Defense, the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.
