All over the country communities are speaking out about taking down Confederate monuments and statues including Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee.
In Nashville, Tennessee, protesters draped a black jacket over a bust of an early Ku Klux Klan leader and Confederate cavalry general, Nathan Bedford Forrest at the Tennessee Capitol while cheering, “Tear it down!” Republican Gov. Bill Haslam later said he didn’t think Forrest should be honored at the Capitol.
In Memphis, city attorney Bruce McMullen said Monday that he plans to file a petition to remove a statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest from a park. The Memphis City Council voted in 2015 to relocate the statue, but the state historical commission blocked the move under the Heritage Protection Act, which makes any push to remove historical markers harder.
Tennessee Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Corker condemned the rally and offered support in removing the Forrest bust from the state capitol.
Corker called it an “act of terror” for someone to drive their car into anti-racist protestors. He also renewed his support for the removal of Forrests’ bust from the Tennessee Capitol. However, the he did not speak on President Trump blaming both white supremacists and counter-protestors for the violent encounter.
“Obviously people have First Amendment rights — as long as they’re peaceful,” Corker said. “But to have someone who drives a car down the middle of a crowd — killing, maiming innocent people? In our nation it is an act of terror and needs to be stopped.”
