Many Memphians oppose the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue and are determined to have it removed by the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination.
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| An Aug. 19 protest of the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue in Health Sciences Park in Memphis resulted in several arrests. (Photo by Barbara Kuhn) |
“There is a historical marker at that location where the slave market was and it does not accurately depict what he was engaged in,” said Turner.
“The other marker said that his business made him wealthy. Well, we know that his business was selling slaves. That was his big business. A slave trader. He was also a slave breeder, so he was really entrenched in the slave trading business.”
She said the statue is not on the tour but they do inform the tourists about Nathan Bedford Forrest.
“We do talk about Nathan Bedford Forrest being one of the organizers of the Ku Klux Klan. He was the so called General who led the Massacre at Fort Pillow Tennessee, where over 200 black soldiers were killed as well as some whites.”
Turner said a majority of the visitors who come to the museum are not from Memphis or the United States. But they are absolutely appalled that there is a statue of a man with his reputation. They are often shocked that the citizens of Memphis would allow it to stand on a major street or anywhere in the city.
“It’s a black mark on the city of Memphis. It is shameful that people would allow a statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest to stand anywhere in this city or for that matter Jefferson Davis.” – Elaine Turner
“We’ve even had visitors to sign a petition. Once people know who he actually was, they want to be a part of having that statue removed from the city of Memphis because it does not speak well of the image here in Memphis.”
“It never should have been placed there in the first place but that was a move to glorify the confederacy.”
Turner said most Jews would not stand for there to be a statue of Adolf Hitler. She said if there was a statue of Hitler, they may tear the statue down themselves.
“It’s a black mark on the city of Memphis,” said Turner. “It is shameful that people would allow a statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest to stand anywhere in this city or for that matter Jefferson Davis.”
Turner is not the only one who wants to see the statue removed. Tami Sawyer, an educator and Take ‘Em Down 901 activist, has organized several protests demanding all of the Confederate statues in Memphis be removed this year.
"We're looking for immediate action," said Sawyer. "What we're saying is that the city can't let them stand at MLK50, but this needs to happen now. The country is watching. Take 'em down." Recently, two dental students who attend the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Cheryl Byrd and Bryan Goodman, organized a protest at the park where the statue is located. Byrd said the violence that occurred in Charlottesville is what sparked her and Goodman to organize a protest of the statue.
“We always felt some type of way about it being there,” said Byrd. “I had always followed [Take’EmDown 901] and been very aware of the fact that I personally did not agree with them being there.”
She said they were in touch with Sawyer who encouraged them to have the protest before the City Council voted on it.
“We basically kind of threw it together in about two or three days with the [help of] the Black Student Organization, Student National Dental Association, as well as our Med school counterpart which is the Student National Medical Association,” said Byrd. “They helped us with getting the word out and say now is the time. We need to ban together. Let’s stage a protest at the statue between 12 and 1 on this day.” She said it was a high anxiety time because she believes a lot of people whom they were trying to organize with were nervous about backlash.
“We were almost afraid that nobody would show up but when we [arrived] there were [about] 90 people of students, staff, and faculty. There ended up being a lot of press there. None of which I foresaw.” Byrd said the next day, there was an even larger protest at the statue.
“We also have a portion of tuition and fees go to maintaining this park, so it is associated with the school.”
She said nothing has to replace the statue. It can just be a park that is used by students. “As far as I’m concerned about the statue, it’s just a blemish that we try to ignore,” said Byrd. “If I had to choose, I would personally like for it to be something that represents UT and its mission, something artistic and healthcare related.”