Activists put message at Forrest grave
Late Wednesday night, activists painted the words "Black Lives Matter" in bright yellow around the massive pedestal that once elevated a statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest above a park in downtown Memphis.
The body of Forrest — Confederate general, slave trader, Memphis City Councilman and Ku Klux Klan member — and his wife remain buried underneath the base.
The words "Black Lives Matter" have been painted on streets across the country, said Amber Sherman, an activist who organized the protest mural.
"I felt like we should definitely do one here because it definitely has a positive symbolism," Sherman said. "I also wanted to address the racism and racist symbolism we have here in this city. I wanted to do one around the tomb of a slave owner whose body is still there. When the Confederate statue was put up and his body was moved there, it was definitely used as a way to threaten Black people and discourage Black people in that area and I wanted to use that as a way to transform that and say 'Black Lives Matter.'"
The Health Sciences Park, once known as Forrest Park, is now owned by
Memphis Greenspace.
Shelby County Commissioner Van Turner, president of Memphis Greenspace, said he still needed to see the “Black Lives Matter” mural, and that it was different than those painted in other cities since it was painted on private property.
He's not in “any rush” to remove the mural, he said. After all, the statue of Forrest remained in place in the park for at least 100 years, Turner said.
Eventually, the mural will be removed, Turner said, but he doesn't think it will cause any harm if it stays in place for a while.
Turner is also president of the Memphis branch of the NAACP, which has worked to provide legal representation to protesters arrested in Memphis.
“I think what the Black Lives Matter movement in Memphis is attempting to do is make that statement, make sure that statement is heard loud and clear,” Turner said. “I consider this a protest mural and now we have to begin working on policy and then we have to protect all of that with our folks.”
Sherman said that the mural was just one method of applying pressure as activists push for change.
"Although this is great symbolism, we want them to know that Black lives really do matter," she said. "This is a fight we're not going to stop anytime soon."
The statue of Forrest was removed in late 2017 after the Memphis City Council unanimously approved the sale of Health Science Park to Memphis Greenspace.
It is expected that the bodies of Forrest and his wife will eventually be moved out of the park, but Turner said there are still some legal matters outstanding.
Katherine Burgess covers county government, religion and the suburbs. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com, 901-5292799 or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.