In the wake of the Charlottesville hate-fest, the latest Leftist to jump on the race-bait freight train of historical revisionists is New York’s hereditary governor, Andrew Cuomo. He has decreed that statues of “Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson will be removed from the CUNY hall of great Americans because New York stands against racism.”

Memo to Andy: Pick up a history book. New York is named for the Duke of York, James Stuart, who founded the Royal African Company (RAC) in the mid 17th century. He was a notorious slave trader. The RAC held a virtual monopoly on slave trade, having bought and sold more than 100,000 slaves until its market share declined when other British merchants were allowed to enter the slave-trade market.

And, FYI, New York state did not pass a law to begin the gradual emancipation of slaves until 1799, after emancipation was underway in neighboring states. (You didn’t know New Yorkers were slave holders?) That law decreed that children born to slaves were free, but were still required to work for their mothers’ masters. Slaves were not fully freed in New York until 1827. Today, the only slaves in New York, and across the nation, are Democrat Party constituents generationally enslaved on their urban poverty plantations.

So, should Cuomo, and the rest of the nation, tear down anything that bears the name “New York”? I don’t think so, but to be consistent…

(While checking up on a little New York history, I recommend Cuomo also read a few essays on historical revision by longtime friend of The Patriot Post, distinguished George Mason University professor Walter Williams. He has issued erudite warnings about the consequences of historical ignorance here and here, including the removal of historic markers to Confederate generals and the rewriting American history.)