Nathan Bedford Forrest statue.Photo: Mark Humphrey/AP/Shutterstock
A controversial statue of a former Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan (KKK) member has been removed after it was erected on private property in Tennessee more than two decades ago.
“Any monument is a symbol of racism if you are going to make it a symbol of racism,” he told NPR in a 2011interview.
Dorris believed Forrest was a significant historical figure and committed to leaving the statue up despite it being the target of vandalism, including an incident that left it covered in pink paint.
Nathan Bedford Forrest statue.Mark Humphrey/AP/Shutterstock
Dorris also left the rest of his property to theBattle of Nashville Trust, which preserves and maintains historic remainders of the Nashville Civil War battlefield.
In a statement to the local outlet, the organization said it ultimately decided to take the statue down. They attributed the decision to a number of reasons, with one simply being that it was “ugly.”
“The statue is ugly. Even Forrest would think it is ugly,” they continued. “[And] It hinders our mission and what we are trying to accomplish.”
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According toWSMV, the statue was removed from its location early Tuesday morning.
“This has been a national embarrassment,” said state Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, according to theTennessean. “I’m so excited. This is great news. It’s just so hurtful to people, not to mention it’s heinously ugly.”
source: people.com
