Fort Polk renamed in honor of Black WWI hero

Fort Polk, an Army base in Louisiana named after a Confederate general, has been renamed Fort Johnson in honor of Sgt. William Henry Johnson, a Black soldier who received the Medal of Honor almost a century after his heroic actions during World War I. The renaming is part of a $62 million project to remove Confederate names and monuments from Army bases. Johnson's bravery prevented a dozen German soldiers from capturing his fellow soldier, and he was praised by American poet Langston Hughes and Theodore Roosevelt Jr. for his actions. The renaming is a small step towards inclusivity, but more needs to be done to address racial inequities in the military.