This fight’s not over
No, CA, it’s not “done.” Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest was my great-great-greatgrandfather so I have a dog in this fight. My business is located in Memphis, so I’m a city taxpayer, and I’m a Memphis native.
To some, it is unfortunate that Tennessee was part of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Perhaps they would like to scoot the Mason-Dixon line a little further south. Forrest Park was there before the members of the City Council were born and it will be there long after they are gone. Maybe Councilwoman Janis Fullilove will think the next time she be-bops in front of the TV cameras and calls out those “Republicans in Nashville.” Where has all the state of Tennessee money gone? It sure would be better spent somewhere else. rational and logical renaming of these public parks will claim to be patriots and firm believers in our Constitution.
The Constitution clearly defines treason as going to war against the United States which is exactly what the Southern states did in the Civil War. To believe in our Constitution you must admit that the Southern states and their leaders were clearly guilty of treason and do not deserve to be honored. This is not revisionist history, but just plain, clear facts. down the monuments to the past? Where are our elected representatives? Are they afraid of being labeled a bigot because they appreciate their own history?
As I witness the passing of my culture, my sincere hope is that somewhere a book or two will survive so that some future historian can resurrect history as it was, not as those temporarily in charge want it to be. I wonder what will happen to black culture when the Hispanics take over. Will Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard become Cinco de Mayo Boulevard? made it clear that the term controversial is relative. I am offended and saddened by the decision to remove these memorials to a major part of our region’s history.
I am not against the memorialization of our region’s civil rights activists, as some have suggested as an alternative purpose for these parks, but I ask that we preserve their memory as well as our Confederate past. Ignoring our history will not erase the slavery that took place. But we cannot condemn an entire society because we judge them from a different point in time. That would be like the Egyptians erasing all memory of the Pharaohs because they mercilessly worked their slaves in erecting the Pyramids.
I understand that some of the ignorant and racist reactions that have come from this decision may reinforce some people’s belief that this is the right thing to do; but I would be greatly disappointed in our community if we judged a group’s beliefs by the weakest-minded people of that group, especially when the same close-minded ignorance can be seen on both sides. I hope the City Council will consider the consequences of their actions when finalizing their decision.