West Point's KKK plaque should be removed, commission says

[luv2fly]

West Point’s KKK plaque should be removed, commission says
Panel is tasked with recommending which US military assets should be renamed, to remove associations with Confederates

@MartinPengelly
Thu 1 Sep 2022 02.00 EDT

A bronze plaque commemorating the Ku Klux Klan should be removed from the science centre at West Point, a congressional commission said, even though it falls outside the panel’s remit because the racist terror group was formed after the American civil war.

The Naming Commission was established in March 2021, in the aftermath of the police murder of George Floyd and the protests for racial justice it inspired.

The eight-member panel is tasked with recommending which US military assets should be renamed, to remove associations with Confederates who fought to maintain slavery.

In May, the commissioners released part one of their report, concerning the renaming of military bases – a process opposed by conservatives including Donald Trump.

Story at

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/01/west-point-kkk-plaque-remove-confederates

[Scrivener7]

1. It took them since March 2021 to decide that.

[harumph]

2. Article is misleading as is a similar one from the NYT

The article implies that the plaque commemorates the KKK. It does not. The plaque in question is one of three bas relief plaques where a relatively small KKK figure (almost unnoticeable) is seen in the bottom right corner. It appears the plaques depict a "grab bag" of both positive and negative history of the corps. Woman artist (Fraser) executed the work some years back (she died in 66 I believe).
I'd like to learn more about the artist and her intent. IOW, maybe she intended to show the history of the corps in both moments of
nobility and disgrace. Maybe the decision to include the KKK figure was actually subversive. Art is often more nuanced than understood by critics.

[JHB]

3. More information on that score (can't post excerpt right now, sorry)

https://www.coffeeordie.com/west-point-klan-plaque-1

[3catwoman3]

4. Why the hell is it even there in the first place?

This should be a no-brainer.