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US Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke speaks with reporters at Camp Nelson National Monument Saturday in Nicholasville, Kentucky (Adam Beam / AP)
On the first use of his executive powers, President Trump on Friday designated a national monument, establishing a 380-acre site in Kentucky to pay tribute to the role of African Americans as soldiers during the civil war.
This initiative was hailed by local activists and environmental advocates, but also by critics from several environmental groups, who noted that Trump had used this same authority under the 1906 Antiquities Act. Last year. reduce the size of two existing national monuments in Utah.
Republicans had insisted for more than a year for the creation of a national monument at Camp Nelson in Nicholasville, Kentucky, which was one of the largest recruiting and training depots for American troops of color. Although Kentucky was the last state in the Union to authorize the enlistment of African-American men, the camp sent 23,000 of the roughly 180,000 black soldiers who fought for it. Union during the Civil War.
"During the war, thousands of enslaved African-Americans risked their lives to flee to Camp Nelson, out of a deep desire for freedom and the right to self-determination," Trump said in his proclamation signed on Friday. .
Jim Fryer, a retired chief naval officer and descendant of men who fought in American colored troops, said in a statement Saturday: "These are sacred grounds here, whether it's a park , that it remains a park. "
US Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, who last year recommended Trump to designate the site as a national monument, celebrated the announcement Saturday at an event in Kentucky, which has participated several dozens of activists and representative of Garland Attorney "Andy" Barr. legislation to recognize it.
"Camp Nelson and all the patriots associated with it occupy an incredible place in the history of America, and President Trump's action to designate Camp Nelson as a national monument will ensure the continued protection of site and history, "Zinke told a statement, adding that he was thanking the president" for using the antiquities law as it was really wanted ".
Barr hailed the news in a tweet Saturday, sharing photos of himself and Zinke during the ceremony. "I am proud to advocate for Camp Nelson, a site that can unite the American people," he said.
Cemetery monument at Camp Nelson. (IStock)
Kate Kelly, director of public lands for the liberal think-tank Center for American Progress, said the camp "deserved to be protected." However, she questioned the timing of the declaration, knowing that Barr is stuck in a race for re-election with Democrat Amy McGrath.
"But we can not ignore the profound irony and injustice of President Trump, who uses the same authority to protect a chapter in America's history, while illegally canceling the protection of the United States. 39, another national monument that honors the history and culture of Native Americans, "she said. The Bears Ears National Monument, of which Trump declined by 85% in December. "Given that this announcement comes just days before a tight election in Kentucky, we must also ask ourselves if the historic site is used as a political pawn."
Interior spokeswoman Heather Swift said the department had invited all members of the Kentucky Congress delegation to Saturday's event.
Alan Spears, director of cultural resources at the government affairs office of the National Parks Conservation Association, said in a telephone interview Saturday that the designation underscored the fact that there was "a lot of union feeling in the Kentucky "during the Civil War, although the state now there are still dozens of Confederate monuments.
"There has been a reversal of the current feeling of what was Kentucky during the war," said Spears.
Kentucky had initially declared its neutrality during the war, but after Confederate forces attempted to seize the state, the legislature had sought the assistance of the army from the United States. 39; Union.
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