Over the last couple of decades, Americans have been doing something extraordinary – we have been removing statues and changing the names of military bases. This has been controversial, to say the least. Concerning statues, these were mostly erected 30-40 years after the Civil War was over, and they were almost all of traitors who rebelled against the United States to try to protect the evil institution of slavery. They were erected to remind the formerly enslaved that they were still, in the minds of their former abusers, inferior. In Richmond, VA, they were replaced by a statue of Arthur Ashe, Jr., a native professional tennis player who did tremendous good during his life. That act of defiance makes me want to live there. The military bases named after some of the same traitors have been renamed after actual American heroes. This administration is in the process of changing them back, for no reason other than, I think, their fragile white, male egos got boo boos. And the desire to be cruel and control us. Names matter.
What’s in a name? What gets people so riled up over someone changing their name or adding to it? In some Christian traditions, babies are baptized and given a new name to signify the event. Women, traditionally, have taken the name of their husband, an archaic practice that comes from the former reality of white male ownership of everything. Our family dogs, when a file was created, were given my last name. Enslaved people had new names forced on them, an attempt to erase who they were and where they came from. Just watch the epic series “Roots”, and you will marvel at the herculean efforts of Kunte Kinti to keep his name. Nicknames are either given out of endearment or derision, and once stuck with one, it is really hard to get rid of. And ask any person who is transitioning just how important their new name is, and you will learn the value of what we call ourselves. Names matter.
Names define us, and it says a lot about an administration if a military base’s name is reverted from a hero to a misogynistic racist. There is no reasonable answer for why this is being done. My take? It is just one more way to exhibit cruelty and dominance. It is a way of saying that the Civil War never ended, and that those in charge still want to control and demean women and people of color. There is no good reason for holding on to our broken past other than fear of equality and having to admit that we are still a very racist, bigoted, and sick nation. Names matter.
Prayer – Holy God, You are called by different names, and I hope that they are okay with You. May our names for You reflect our love. Amen.
Today’s art is called “Early Days”, part of the Pioneer Monument on Fulton St in San Francisco, Calif. It was removed in 2018.