Navy to Rename Ships Honoring Civil Rights Leaders

The U.S. Navy is considering renaming ships currently honoring civil rights leaders, a move critics denounce as a politically motivated attempt to erase contributions to diversity and inclusion. CBS News reported the potential renaming of vessels like the USNS Harvey Milk, USNS Thurgood Marshall, USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, USNS Harriet Tubman, USNS Dolores Huerta, USNS Lucy Stone, USNS Cesar Chavez and USNS Medgar Evers.

The USNS Harvey Milk is reportedly the first ship slated for a name change. Milk, a Navy veteran and the first openly gay elected official in California, was assassinated in 1978 and remains a prominent LGBTQ+ icon. The timing of the proposed renaming, coinciding with Pride Month and the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, has drawn particular criticism.

Evidence suggests a deliberate effort to distance the Navy from honoring these figures. CBS News discovered a December 2024 Naval Sea Systems Command article detailing the keel laying for the USNS Thurgood Marshall had been removed from the Navy’s website.

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi condemned the potential renaming as a “shameful, vindictive erasure” of individuals who fought for equality and the American Dream. She argued the move weakens, rather than strengthens, national security and contradicts core American values.

A Navy memo cited by CBS News indicates the renaming initiative aims to “realign the U.S. military with Trump administration priorities of ‘reestablishing the warrior culture.’”

This decision feels deeply misguided. Honoring figures like Harvey Milk, Thurgood Marshall, and Harriet Tubman isn’t about political correctness; it’s about acknowledging the full scope of American history and inspiring future generations. These individuals weren’t simply civil rights leaders; they were patriots who fought to uphold the ideals of justice and equality upon which this nation was founded. To erase their contributions in the name of a narrow, exclusionary vision of “warrior culture” is a disservice to their legacy and a step backward for the country. A truly strong military honors all its heroes, not just those who fit a particular ideological mold.