The Bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and KKK leader, Gets moved to a Tennessee…

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d Forrest, a Confederate cavalry general, amassed a fortune before the Civil War as a Memphis slave trader and plantation owner. As a leader of the Ku Klux Klan, many African Americans were terrorized, reversed Reconstruction efforts, and restored white power in the South.Also, during the battle of Ft. Pillow, Nathan Bedford Forrest was in charge where an estimated 300 Black soldiers were massacred by Forrest’s men after surrendering, which provoked much outrage in the Northern states.Throughout Tennessee history, Nathan Bedford Forrest maintained a strong presence until death in, 1887 having a state park and state holiday named after him, along with the installation of a 25-foot statue along interstate 65 that yet stands.Tennessee’s State Building Commission voted 5–2 to remove the bust, against legislative leaders who for years where the GOP controlled General Assembly had refused to advance legislation for its removal from the Capitol. Initially, when Governor Lee first took office in 2018, he argued for the bust to remain stating that the KKK was a part of history even though not proud of it and all needed to be reminded of it and don’t forget it.With Lee having a change of heart, change came and the removal of the bust from the Capitol happened in 2020 during the outcry of the heinous murder of George Floyd by ex-police officer Chauvin in Minneapolis.An African American lawmaker, Sen. Raumesh Akbari, from Memphis who chairs the Senate’s Democratic Caucus, stated that these changes and removals are necessary for healing the wounds of the past from the Ft. Pillow massacre to roving lynch mobs, from Jim Crow to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., along with countless similar crimes across this country.In conclusion, Tennessee has joined the ranks of a few cities that housed remnants of a racist past being removed to a new location via much outcry. The removal of Confederate symbols is a great start in a good direction, and heart-to-heart reckoning is much needed for healing to be true and lasting.For additional reads:<div id="786e" class="link-block">

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The Bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and KKK leader, Gets moved to a Tennessee Museum

How the Tennessee’s Black legislative caucus fought for years to remove this bust from the state Capitol

Photo by Kim Kruesi/AP

Too many years have passed and the stains of racism have inflicted so much pain in society, locally and nationally. The time has come where a change must come and is needed.

One of the newest and longest fought changes is the removal of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader, bust has finally been removed from the Tennessee Capitol in Nashville where it had been displayed for decades against much protest in the past by African American lawmakers and activists. Tennessee’s Black legislative caucus and the community contended constantly with this painful past reminder and all the atrocities committed against African Americans at the hands of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a slave trader, and Confederate general.

It was installed in 1978 and has sparked protests and support adversely from the beginning and continued on into the present day. Over the years in the middle of many protests, decisions were being considered to add other historical contexts next to the bust. Finally, with the backing of others, including Republican Gov. Bill Lee, the bust was moved to the Tennessee State Museum.

The GOP-controlled General Assembly refused for years to advance legislation calling for the bust’s removal. In fact, state laws were enacted in 2016 making it harder for the removal of controversial statues and street names and required a two-thirds majority vote from the Tennessee Historical Commission.

The former Republican Governor Bill Haslam called for the removal of Forrest’s bust after the slayings of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina in 2017, and after the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia but was rejected by a state panel.

Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate cavalry general, amassed a fortune before the Civil War as a Memphis slave trader and plantation owner. As a leader of the Ku Klux Klan, many African Americans were terrorized, reversed Reconstruction efforts, and restored white power in the South.

Also, during the battle of Ft. Pillow, Nathan Bedford Forrest was in charge where an estimated 300 Black soldiers were massacred by Forrest’s men after surrendering, which provoked much outrage in the Northern states.

Throughout Tennessee history, Nathan Bedford Forrest maintained a strong presence until death in, 1887 having a state park and state holiday named after him, along with the installation of a 25-foot statue along interstate 65 that yet stands.

Tennessee’s State Building Commission voted 5–2 to remove the bust, against legislative leaders who for years where the GOP controlled General Assembly had refused to advance legislation for its removal from the Capitol. Initially, when Governor Lee first took office in 2018, he argued for the bust to remain stating that the KKK was a part of history even though not proud of it and all needed to be reminded of it and don’t forget it.

With Lee having a change of heart, change came and the removal of the bust from the Capitol happened in 2020 during the outcry of the heinous murder of George Floyd by ex-police officer Chauvin in Minneapolis.

An African American lawmaker, Sen. Raumesh Akbari, from Memphis who chairs the Senate’s Democratic Caucus, stated that these changes and removals are necessary for healing the wounds of the past from the Ft. Pillow massacre to roving lynch mobs, from Jim Crow to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., along with countless similar crimes across this country.

In conclusion, Tennessee has joined the ranks of a few cities that housed remnants of a racist past being removed to a new location via much outcry. The removal of Confederate symbols is a great start in a good direction, and heart-to-heart reckoning is much needed for healing to be true and lasting.

For additional reads: