Tennessee Gov. Lee will introduce legislation this year that would amend a law requiring the state to honor Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan.
He was in charge during the battle of Fort Pillow, where an estimated 300 African-American soldiers were massacred by Forrest’s men after surrendering. The massacre provoked outrage in the North and was one of the most bitterly disputed incidents in the Civil War.
“I know that it’s hard to renegotiate history, but at the end of the day we need to celebrate folks that bring people together and not necessarily tear people apart. I hope that we will consider that and reexamine all of these proclamations for state holidays,” said Sen. Raumesh Akbari, a Democrat from Memphis.
Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. London Lamar, also from Memphis, is sponsoring a bill this year to remove the Forrest Day designation.The attention to the Forrest proclamation comes as lawmakers also have debated for years on possibly moving the bust of Forrest that has sat inside the Tennessee Statehouse for decades.
A state commission is scheduled to meet in February to address the bust, just months after Lee appointed two new members to the panel.
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