FORT BRAGG, N.C. — The US Army will rename the cables used for most wheeled and tracked vehicle platforms to jumpstart dead batteries from slave cables to freedom cables, sources confirmed today.
“It came to the attention of the Chief of Staff that the name slave cable was incredibly insensitive to our African-American Soldiers, some of whom may trace their family history back to the time of slavery,” Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey said in a statement.
The naming issue was first raised by Pvt. Josiah Brown earlier this year, after he was ordered to retrieve slave cables from the motor pool.
“Why do you call them slave cables?” he reportedly asked Staff Sgt. Simon Legree, senior mechanic. “Is it because they’re black?” Read more here.