Lee will work to change Forrest Day law
In a change of heart, Gov. Bill Lee on Monday said he would work to undo a state law that tasks the Tennessee governor with declaring a special day of observance in honor of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader.
Lee announced his plans in a tweet Monday, diverging from comments made to The Tennessean on Thursday that he was not considering changing the law.
Nathan Bedford Forrest Day was observed on Saturday, as it is each year on Forrest’s July 13 birthday.
“While it is my job as governor to enforce the law, I want Tennesseans to know where my heart is on this issue,” Lee tweeted. “Our state’s history is rich, complex and in some cases painful. With this in mind, I will be working to change this law.”
In a statement Monday evening, a spokesman for the lieutenant governor said the Senate leader would talk with Lee about the proposed change of law.
“Lt. Gov. Randy Mcnally is open to having the discussion on changing the law,” said Adam Kleinheider, Mcnally’s communications director.
Lee has not announced a change of position on what to do with a bust of Forrest that has been on display outside the Senate and House chambers since 1978. The governor has said since before he was in office that he was not in favor of moving the bust to the state museum.
Earlier this year, Lee conceded that he was open to the idea of adding additional historical context next to the Forrest bust, but has not taken any public action to do so.
Mcnally has said he is in favor of adding additional context to the bust, but believes the State Capitol Commission, which has the authority to vote on removing it, should make the final decision about the monument’s location.
On July 8, The Tennessean first asked Lee’s office about the law requiring the proclamation for Forrest. His office did not immediately respond to the request, but on Thursday morning confirmed that the governor had signed the proclamation as instructed by law.
When The Tennessean asked Lee about the issue at a news conference Thursday afternoon, he said he “(hadn’t) looked at changing the law” that tasks him with issuing the proclamation, but would take a look at the law.
He declined at the time to say whether he believed state law should be changed to no longer require the governor to issue such proclamations or whether he had reservations about doing so.
After the story published, Lee received national criticism over his reticence to take action, including from U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-texas, who suggested issuing a proclamation in Forrest’s honor was “wrong.”
In a sit-down interview arranged by his office on Monday, Lee told WRKN he would pursue the change.
Lee tweeted that he sat for the interview “to clear the air on something that everyone’s been talking about.”
State law currently instructs the governor to issue proclamations for six separate days of special observation, three of which pertain to the Confederacy, including Forrest Day.
Governors are also tasked with proclaiming Jan. 19 as Robert E. Lee Day, honoring the commander of the Confederate Army, as well as June 3 Confederate Decoration Day, otherwise known as Confederate Memorial Day and the birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Lee’s office on Monday did not say whether the other days of special observation would also be tackled in the governor’s proposed law change.
Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@ tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.