As Fort Moore in Columbus, Georgia, reverts to its previous name, Fort Benning, the Southern Poverty Law Center says the trend of removing monuments and place names related to the Confederacy has slowed since 2022.
Its 2024 “Whose Heritage” report acknowledges the role that President Donald Trump has played in touting Confederate symbolism and what the SPLC calls the “Lost Cause mythology.”
Seth Levi is chief strategy officer with the SPLC. He criticized the move to rename the Georgia military base for Fred G. Benning, a soldier who fought in World War I and who has the same last name as Henry L. Benning, the Confederate officer the base was originally named after.
“It’s cynical. It’s disrespectful and insulting to those veterans to now have their name associated with Confederate generals, people who took up arms against the United States to fight a war to preserve slavery,” said Levi.
Levi emphasized that legislation to replace the Confederate’s name passed with bipartisan support, whereas the decision to reinstate that name was made unilaterally by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The SPLC says Georgia has more Confederate symbols in public places than any other state, with almost 300 remaining.
