City removes Forrest statue
It has been put in storage for eventual placement elsewhere
The statue of a controversial Confederate general credited with being a founder of the Ku Klux Klan was removed from its base in Myrtle Hill Cemetery by city work crews early Friday.
“We voted back in July unanimously to move it,” Rome Mayor Craig McDaniel said, referencing the board’s July 13, 2020, emergency resolution to relocate the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest.
The statue has been placed in storage until a decision is made on where and how to display it. A state law passed in 2019 prohibits the removal of historical monuments other than to a place of equal public prominence.
City Manager Sammy Rich said Friday there’s been increasing concern about the possibility of vandalism. McDaniel polled the other eight members of the City Commission this week and they opted to temporarily take it down.
“The statue is in good condition and we’ll keep it in a safe location until the board decides what to do,” Rich said.
A statue of a Confederate soldier at the top of Myrtle Hill was severely damaged by vandals in December 2017 and bids to repair it were in the range of $42,000 to $57,000. Insurance put just $25,000 in the pot and it, too, is in temporary storage.
Rich said that, including the granite base, the entire Forrest monument weighs about 64,000 pounds. Workers carefully lifted off the 2,500-pound marble statue Friday morning, leaving the base behind.
“We have great crews and they were able to handle it with no incident and no injury,” Rich said. “Now we’ll let the committees do their work.”
A citizens’ advisory committee is being formed to look at ways to better tell the stories of Rome’s historical monuments, including the Forrest statue.
The board’s Committee on Committees met Thursday to review applications with an eye for volunteers having some sort of background in the subject. It’s chaired by Commissioner Jamie Doss, with Commissioners Bill Collins and Jim Bojo also assigned.
Doss said Friday that he thought moving the Forrest statue to protect it was a wise move but, “personally, I hope we do not move any more monuments... We have a lot of history in our city and I don’t want to get into the habit of relocating them.”
A historical cemetery like Myrtle Hill — which contains both a Confederate and African American section — seems to be an appropriate place for the statue, he said. But he’s open to moving it to a place like Fort Norton on Jackson Hill, the site of a Civil War embankment that’s being improved as a trailhead and interpretative center.
Collins, who was mayor during the vote on the resolution last summer, said Friday that the goal is to find a place that fits with the state law restrictions. It will be reinstalled, he said, with a plaque that gives a more rounded presentation of Forrest’s history.
There was a freeze on monument removals across the state following enactment of the 2019 law. However, a number of Georgia cities — including Macon, Savannah and McDonough in Henry County — have recently taken down statues in ways they contend work within the law.
“It says a lot for the city’s leadership that the commissioners voted unanimously to have the statue removed,” Collins said. “We’re not, and never have been, a divisive city or county. We try to do things in a united way. It’s going to be beneficial for all the citizens of Rome and Floyd County.”
Bojo said he understands why people want the statue removed but he wants to find a suitable home for it that abides by the law. He also wants to put the controversial issue behind them.
“Whether we put the statue somewhere else or put it right back where it was, the city of Rome has bigger priorities,” Bojo said. “I don’t want us to get bogged down. Let’s get it done, let’s put it to bed so we can concentrate on the real issues.”
The fate of the statue came to a head Monday night when Commissioner Mark Cochran raised the question in the board’s caucus. He noted that a prominent resident, Wes Walraven, put a hold on his annual $100,000 donation, spread among local civic and social service organizations, until the matter is resolved.
McDaniel said the city doesn’t determine its actions based on financial contributions. However, Cochran’s probing questions on the board’s inaction sparked a serious discussion.
Commissioner Wendy Davis, who backed Cochran during that meeting, said on Friday that it was the right decision to put the statue in safekeeping while the board works out the details of its earlier pledge.
“The summer of 2020 was about representation and what we value as a community,” she said. “Speaking for myself, that statue does not represent my values.”
Commissioners Sundai Stevenson and Randy Quick could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon, but Commissioner Bonny Askew added some perspective.
“In certain ways I use that statue as motivation,” he said. “It let me know that there are still people in this country, even today, who hate me because of the color of my skin. I know I have to go out there every day and do my best, not just for me and my family but for the city of Rome — to let people know we are better than that.”
Askew said that, despite its removal, the statue still motivates him. And he’s looking forward to the civic dialogue it has opened up.
“I don’t have a problem with it being displayed. But when it’s displayed in a prominent place as a celebration of our dark past, I have a problem with that,” he said.