Tennessee governor declares day (July 13) honoring Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a proclamation declaring July 13 Nathan Bedford Forrest Day. Forrest was a Confederate general, slave trader and an early leader of the Ku Klux Klan.
A Tennessee law dating back to 1971 mandates that the governor must issue proclamations for six state holidays each year, including days for Nathan Bedford Forrest and Robert E. Lee, CBS Nashville affiliate WTVF reported.
According to the Tennessee code, the governor must declare January 19 as "Robert E. Lee Day"; February 12 as "Abraham Lincoln Day"; March 15 as "Andrew Jackson Day"; June 3 as "Memorial or Confederate Decoration Day"; July 13 as "Nathan Bedford Forrest Day"; and November 11, as "Veterans' Day."
"I signed the bill because the law requires that I do that and I haven't looked at changing that law," Lee said Thursday.
According to The Tennessean , Lee declined to say if he thought the state law should be changed — something Tennessee Democrats have been hoping would happen. Previous efforts by Democrats have failed.
"This a reminder of the painful and hurtful crimes that were committed against black people," Rep. Vincent Dixie of Nashville told WTVF.
Dixie said he was previously unaware July 13 was Nathan Bedford Forrest Day in Tennessee and criticized Lee's decision to sign the proclamation.
"Now you're signing a proclamation honoring the same people that fought to keep people that look like me, African Americans in slavery," Dixie said.
There is a bust of Forrest in the state capitol and there is a highly-visible statue of him on Interstate 65. There have been calls to remove the bust. The statue, which is on private property, is frequently defaced.
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William Byron Lee is an American businessman and politician serving as the 50th governor of Tennessee since 2019. Elected in 2018, Lee campaigned as a business-oriented Republican. Before entering politics, he held various positions at the Lee Company, an inherited family business; he was the company's president and CEO from 1992 to 2016.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Lee_(Tennessee_politician)
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Why would one of the UNITED States proclaim a "day" honoring a confederate general? Did Tennessee conservatives threaten to secede from the state if it didnt?
Next thing we will see is someone saying Nathan Bedford Forrest was a Democrat.
Who wants to see this "day" honoring him ended? The Democrats do. The Republicans don't. Hmmm.
They are just mad because they lost the civil war.
Gov. Bill Lee is dead?
This is how the Gumps honor their no good racist halfwit forebear. Who knew?
Another Trumpp victory ,
i guess.
It doesn't matter who created the bill or when, or if the governor of the state is Republican or Democrat or Independent. No where in the United States should there be a "day" honoring Nathan Bedford Forrest.
This is exactly why some people of color feel enraged toward American governments and institutions.
Just end the fricking day celebrating a racist traitor who helped start the KKK terrorist group. Just end it.
I'd post a picture of a lynching victim... but that's forbidden.
It's OK to show ISIS beheadings... but not to show American lynching...
It is TN...nuff said.
I think posters are approaching this wrong. You are not going to get racists to admit that they are racists or to admit that their fellow racists shouldn't be honored. You cannot shame a racist.
If the law requires the proclamation be signed then why not launch a campaign to highlight the actions of the person being honored and how those actions impacted history.