Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Board of Regents has endorsed renaming a Middle Tennessee State University building named in honor of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest in 1958.
The Daily News Journal reports (http://on.dnj.com/28T7Q94) an MTSU task force recommended in April that Forrest Hall be renamed, and MTSU President Sidney McPhee has endorsed the recommendation.
The Regents' Friday vote allows MTSU to petition the Tennessee Historical Commission, which must approve the change by a two-thirds vote.
Previously such a renaming required only a majority vote, but state lawmakers changed that earlier this year. Amid calls to remove public Confederate monuments after the slaying of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina, Tennessee lawmakers voted to make such removals more difficult.
The Historical Commission's decision can be appealed in court.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
