In Most of America, It’s Saturday – in Tennessee, It’s a Day to Honor the KKK’s First Grand Wizard
ANGLO AMERICA, 15 Jul 2019
Ryan Koronowski | Think Progress – TRANSCEND Media Service
Nathan Bedford Forrest was also a slave trader and perpetrator of the Fort Pillow Massacre of hundreds of black Union troops.
A bust of Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest (not of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character from the Quentin Tarantino film Django Unchained).
Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
13 Jul 2019 – Today, Saturday, is “Nathan Bedford Forrest Day” in Tennessee, according to a proclamation signed Friday by Gov. Bill Lee (R).
Forrest, for those who may not know their Civil War history, was a Confederate general who was elected to be the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
Forrest’s bust is on display at the Tennessee State Capitol, and as Lee pointed out, there is a 1969 law on the books that requires governors of Tennessee to issue proclamations for six days of observation, including July 13 as Forrest Day. Two other days also pertain to the Confederacy: Jefferson Davis’ birthday and a day to honor Robert E. Lee.
Lee said that changing this law was not something he thought about. The law passed during a time when a backlash to the civil rights movement saw a perverse resurgence in efforts to honor Confederate historical figures.
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Tags: Conflict, History, KKK, Politics, Racism, Social justice, USA, Violence
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