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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee panel voted 25-1 on Tuesday to remove the Capitol's bust of a Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader.
The Tennessee Historical Commission agreed to move the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust to the Tennessee State Museum, saying that facility is better equipped to provide the appropriate context.
The committee enumerated several reasons for the move, including that the interest of commemorating a long-dead historical figure was outweighed by the interest of thousands of citizens who find the commemoration hurtful.
Winter weather delayed discussion on the item that had been scheduled for last month. Another panel in July approved the proposal to move Capitol busts of Forrest and two other military figures to the state museum.
Forrest was a Confederate cavalry general who amassed a fortune as a plantation owner and slave trader in Memphis before the Civil War and later became a Klan leader.
Copyright © 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
