Congressman Calls For Brooklyn's General Lee Avenue To Be Renamed
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Brooklyn congressman is calling for a road honoring a Confederate general to be renamed.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is incensed that the main roadway through the Fort Hamilton military base in Brooklyn is named for Gen. Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War.
Congressman Calls For Brooklyn's General Lee Avenue To Be Renamed
"It is an insult to have a major thoroughfare named after a Confederate general who believed in the ideology of racial superiority and who fought to uphold the institution of slavery," Jeffries told WCBS 880's Rich Lamb.
"Though he spent time at West Point and at the Fort Hamilton military base, he disavowed his loyalty to the country and fought against soldiers of the United States," the congressman added.
Jeffries said the military should work with the community to rename the avenue through the fort after a more appropriate veteran.
The military base is located in southwestern Brooklyn, surrounded by the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst.
