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Forty-two years after the bust of Confederate General and early Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest was installed in the Tennessee Capitol, the statue of the former slave trader was removed from the building Friday, loaded onto a truck and driven away.
Traveling down two streets Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks boulevards a crew of workers delivered the bust to the Tennessee State Museum, where it will be on display with additional context about Forrest s life.
The process of moving the busts of Forrest and U.S. Admirals David Farragut and Albert Gleaves began sometime before 7 a.m. prior to when reporters were allowed in the Capitol and instructed to arrive.
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The bust of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, a controversial fixture in the Tennessee state Capitol since the late 1970s, is coming down.
The State Building Commission on Thursday gave approval for the relocation of the Forrest bust to the Tennessee State Museum, a final step in a process that has taken more than a year since Gov. Bill Lee first said it was time for the statue to be moved. It s been a year long journey, and this is an appropriate step in that process, Lee said prior to the Building Commission meeting Thursday morning. It s most important to me that we followed the process. We talked about that from the very beginning.
Nashville Tennessean
The bust of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, a controversial fixture in the Tennessee state Capitol since the late 1970s, is coming down.
The State Building Commission on Thursday gave approval for the relocation of the Forrest bust to the Tennessee State Museum, a final step in a process that has taken more than a year since Gov. Bill Lee first said it was time for the statue to be moved. It s been a year long journey, and this is an appropriate step in that process, Lee said prior to the Building Commission meeting Thursday morning. It s most important to me that we followed the process. We talked about that from the very beginning.
State representative calls removal of Nathan Bedford Forrest bust ‘large win’ Jonathan Marshall
State representative London Lamar said Thursday was a victory for many.
This, after a vote to remove the bust of Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest from the state Capitol.
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The busts of two other military leaders will be removed as well.
“It’s a large win for many of those who, almost last fifty years, have been fighting to get this bust removed from the state Capitol and it finally got removed,” London said.
Governor Bill Lee voted yes while Lt. Governor Randy McNally and House Speaker Cameron Sexton voted no.
Confederate bust to be removed from Tennessee Capitol
By KIMBERLEE KRUESIJuly 22, 2021 GMT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) A decadeslong effort to remove a bust of a Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader from the Tennessee Capitol cleared its final hurdle Thursday, with state leaders approving the final vote needed to allow the statue to be relocated to a museum.
The seven-member State Building Commission voted 5-2 to remove the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust as well as the busts of two other Tennessee military leaders.
The Forrest bust was first installed at the Capitol in 1978 and has sparked protests and demonstrations ever since. Some have called for adding more historical context to the bust, but others, including Gov. Bill Lee recently, fought to have it moved to the state’s history museum.