Protest held to remove Forrest bust
Gov. Bill Lee will no longer have to proclaim Nathan Bedford Forrest Day in Tennessee now that both chambers of the legislature have passed a bill releasing him from the requirement.
After urging the Senate to take up a bill his administration had introduced this session, the upper chamber passed the legislation on Wednesday, following suit after the House did so earlier in the year.
The Senate had not initially included the Senate Bill 2199 on a list of legislation it planned to pass during the General Assembly’s brief, post-coronavirus session.
While Lee’s bill on the matter as originally filed called for the mention of Nathan Bedford Forrest Day to be completely removed from the state’s list of special observances, the bill was ultimately amended to leave all current days of observation on the calendar.
Per state law, since 1969 the Tennessee governor has been tasked with issuing proclamations for six separate days of special observation, three of which, including the July 13 Forrest Day, pertain to the Confederacy. Prior to that, those days were legal holidays.
Lee – and governors who have come before him – have been required by state law to proclaim 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.
The legislation is awaiting Lee’s signature and will prevent him from having to sign the Forrest Day proclamation next month, something he faced widespread criticism last year for doing.
Senate Democrats on Wednesday attempted to amend the bill back to its original state to eliminate the holiday completely.
The chamber heard impassioned appeals from two black legislators, Sens. Brenda Gilmore of Nashville and Raumesh Akbari of Memphis, though they voted not to return the legislation to its previous state.
“I really want you all to search your hearts, not just your mind, but your hearts, and I want you to think about what it feels like for the hundreds of thousands of African-americans in this state, they themselves descendants of enslaved people,” Akbari said.
“I want you to think about what if feels like for me, an African-american woman,” Akbari continued, to know that the state celebrates a man who became rich by “selling black folks like we’re tractors.”
Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-franklin and the sponsor of the legislation, said now was not the time to debate the merits of the day and pass a bill to eliminate it, but believed it was more important now to release the governor from having to proclaim any special days.
“When we started this session, the governor was trying to fix that,” Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro, D-nashville, said of Lee’s original plans to end the day. “And now it’s being explained away as though we were just trying to deal with a separation of powers issue.”
Asked Wednesday whether he believed the bill went far enough, Lee suggested there was more to be done, but did not definitely say he wanted to remove the day completely.
“I think we’re in a process in this country, and I’m grateful for steps in the right direction,” Lee said.
Lee’s spokesman Gillum Ferguson confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the governor would not be signing the Forrest proclamation come July.
“We will not proclaim Nathan Bedford Forrest Day, period,” Ferguson said.
About 50 demonstrators gathered Wednesday to protest the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest display in the Capitol.
Venita Lewis, an activist who has been involved in civil rights protests for more than 40 years, said the bust signifies slavery.
“It’s appalling to Americans, to the state of Tennessee and to its people,” she said. “It’s time to get away from the foolishness.
“All of the decisions in this state starts right (at the Capitol). If I have to go in there, I have to look at it and remember the Nathan Bedford Forrest history, and we’re tired of looking at it.”
She said protesters were planning to present a petition to Lee demanding the removal of the statue.
Reporter Brinley Hineman contributed.
Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.
Natalie Allison Nashville Tennessean USA TODAY NETWORK – TENNESSEE