Tennessee Republicans vote to keep KKK leader bust in Capitol
After voting to keep the bust, Rep. Jerry Sexton says with a straight face, 'who knows maybe some of us will be slaves one day, laws change'
The bronze bust of Confederate and Ku Klux Klan leader, Nathan Bedford Forrest, will remain inside the Tennessee State Capitol.
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The bronze bust of Confederate and Ku Klux Klan leader, Nathan Bedford Forrest, will remain inside the Tennessee State Capitol.
Lawmakers in the state voted against a resolution to remove the bust, 11 to 5.
READ MORE: Virginia man who drove truck into protesters is a KKK leader
If the resolution had passed, both the Capitol Commission and Tennessee Historical Commission would have had to approve it. It would have lost there too, as both organizations advocated for the bust to remain.
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Forrest was a Confederate general during the Civil War during which he led a massacre at Fort Pillow where 300 Black soldiers were killed. He was a slave owner who’s plantation produced cotton. He has been lauded as a brilliant military strategist.
Forrest joined the Ku Klux Klan in 1867 and led its efforts to suppress the voting rights of Blacks during the elections of 1868. Historians have noted that Forrest later denounced the organization.
During the vote to remove the statue, Rep. Jerry Sexton, R-District 35, said “who knows maybe some of us will be slaves one day, laws change.” Other lawmakers were astonished by the comment.
Ok after watching the video of Tennessee Rep. Jerry Sexton he may be this weeks most crazy motherfucker this week in defense of keeping a bust of KKK founder up. https://t.co/IDyNPzhnFD
— Mr. Strangelove (@ZXanflorp) June 12, 2020
“The remark is broadly reflective of the attitude that has left that bust in place,” said Democratic Rep. Mike Stewart of Nashville.
A separate bill, sponsored by Rep. London Lamar of Memphis called for the end of Nathan Bedford Forrest Day in Tennessee which is a “day of special observance,” and is acknowledged annually on July 13, by the governor.
That bill passed the House Naming Designating and Private Acts Committee by one vote. The bill has to pass the House Calendar and Rules Committee before it can reach the House floor for a full vote. Governor Bill Lee has asked the state Senate to pass a bill that would end Nathan Bedford Forrest Day.
READ MORE: NASCAR bans Confederate flag after demand by Bubba Wallace
”We are going to continue to move forward,” Rep Lamar said, “We are going to continue to make Tennessee a welcoming state for everybody. That we are going to recognize that we don’t have a perfect past, but we can get it right.”
Confederate statues across the south have been coming down in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
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