Defense Secretary Mark Esper presented a policy change. Effectively immediately, there is to be no Confederate flags at all U.S. military bases. 

“The flags we fly must accord with the military imperatives of good order and discipline, treating all our people with dignity and respect, and rejecting divisive symbols. With this change in policy, we will further improve the morale, cohesion, and readiness of the force in defense of our great Nation,” Esper said in a memo addressing the policy.

Though initially the change was to ban all confederate flags, it was later changed that it does not prohibit the Confederate banner on state-issued license plates, grave sites, monuments, or museum displays. 

After the NASCAR ban on the Confederate flag was heavily criticized by the Trump Administration, Esper attempted to avoid criticism from the president by releasing a two-page memo on flags that will be permitted on display at U.S. military property to “promote unity and esprit de corps.”

Actions from the highest ranking Naval officer have been put in order as well. His staff was directed last month to prohibit the Confederate flag from all public spaces in the Navy. 

However, the Trump administration does not stand by the changes in an effort to create more equality. 

“My Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations. Our history as the Greatest Nation in the World will not be tampered with,” Trump tweeted.

Though Esper has not taken any on-the-record questions from journalists in the last 40 days, he did hold an hour-long virtual town hall meeting on July 17. 

It is a shame that it took someone’s murder to shake the nation to its core and invoke necessary changes. Changes that should have existed long ago, way before the 2000’s. But it is a moment to live through that officials are finally hearing the nation’s outcry for more equality.