Memphis Clergy Want Confederate Statue Removed

[Jerome]

Having a monument to Nathan Bedford Forrest at center of city "does not represent who we are as people of faith.":

Letter from Memphis clergy to Tennessee Historical Commission in support of Forrest statue removal

 

[TCassidy]

George Washington owned slaves. I want the Washington Monument torn down because it "does not represent who we are as people of faith."

Thomas Jefferson owned slaves (even had a child by one of them). I want the Jefferson Memorial torn down because it "does not represent who we are as people of faith."

As long as we are at it let's tear down all the monuments in Europe because they represent the feudalism of Europe which "does not represent who we are as people of faith."

While we are at it let's tear down the Pyramids at Giza as they were built by slaves, and slavery "does not represent who we are as people of faith."

 

[OnlyaSinner]

Having a monument to Nathan Bedford Forrest at center of city "does not represent who we are as people of faith.":

Letter from Memphis clergy to Tennessee Historical Commission in support of Forrest statue removal

Wasn't he instrumental in forming the KKK? If so, I'd put a statue of him in a far different category of "offensiveness" than Washington, Jefferson, Robert E. Lee, or even Jefferson Davis.

 

[Revmitchell]

These people are wanting to be offended by everything. Now they want Hobby Lobby to remove "offensive" center pieces they sell because they are a flower vase with cotton plants in them and slaves picked cotton. It is just getting ridiculous.

 

[Jerome]

These people are wanting to be offended by everything.

"Two things are infinite. The universe and human stupidity. ...and i'm not sure about the universe."

Huh? SBC President Steve Gaines of Bellevue Baptist signed the petition, as did Gospel Coalition Council Member Sandy Willson of Memphis Second Presbyterian!

 

[TCassidy]

Huh? SBC President Steve Gaines of Bellevue Baptist signed the petition, as did Gospel Coalition Council Member Sandy Willson of Memphis Second Presbyterian!

And your point is?

 

[Reynolds]

Wasn't he instrumental in forming the KKK? If so, I'd put a statue of him in a far different category of "offensiveness" than Washington, Jefferson, Robert E. Lee, or even Jefferson Davis.

He formed the Klan, but the Klan he formed was far different than what it became. He resigned membership when it became a terrorist organization. History, study it. It is your friend.

 

[OnlyaSinner]

He formed the Klan, but the Klan he formed was far different than what it became. He resigned membership when it became a terrorist organization. History, study it. It is your friend.

I checked several sources on N.B. Forrest. I'd already known that he was a highly respected military tactician, but found that - in effect - he translated the tactics of Francis Marion to a broader theater and larger scale engagements. His role in the post-battle killings at Fort Pillow are in dispute. Other than well-after-the-fact eyewitness memories (which I know from my own memory processes, can vary), there appears to be no solid evidence that he ordered the killings, or that he was present or even aware, though he must bear some responsibility for acts done by men under his command. As noted above, he resigned from the Klan after less than three years due to the direction that Klukkers had taken; more than that, he called for its abolition, and if he was truly Grand Wizard at the time (there is some disagreement), actually decreed that it would be abolished. By the 1870s he was calling for blacks and whites to live and work together, a position that brought condemnation from former friends. Like many figures in history, a complex man, and like all of us, one with flaws.

 

[Jerome]

Yes!

UPDATE:

Dec. 21, 2017 Memphis Removes Statues of Nathan Bedford Forrest and Jefferson Davis

"Crowds gathered outside the parks to witness the historic removals, some shouting 'Bring it down!' as cranes lifted the statues off their respective pedestals."

"Both statues were placed in their respective parks during times of tremendous racial tensions. The Forrest statue was placed in 1904, as Jim Crow segregation laws were enacted. The Davis statue was placed in 1964"

 

[Ziggy]

How long before the Jefferson Davis Highway in Virginia or Washington and Lee university there (where Lee is buried) get a name change? Maybe they'll even dig up Lee's bones, burn them, and grind them to powder?

Sometimes you just wonder....

 

[Salty]

... His role in the post-battle killings at Fort Pillow are in dispute. Other than well-after-the-fact eyewitness memories ...

Thank goodness that General Sherman was nothing like the KKK