Quote:
Originally Posted by Listener2307
The bumper sticker's approach to history remains intact, and students remain the most ignorant of us all.
Many things have been said about me which are wrong, and which white and black persons here, who stood by me through the war, can contradict. I have been in the heat of battle when colored men, asked me to protect them. I have placed myself between them and the bullets of my men, and told them they should be kept unharmed. Go to work, be industrious, live honestly and act truly, and when you are oppressed I'll come to your relief. I thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for this opportunity you have afforded me to be with you, and to assure you that I am with you in heart and in hand. - Nathan Bedford Forrest in 1875. And yet the only thing people 'know' about Forrest is that he was a racist who founded the KKK.
Forrest is someone who had a radical change of thinking in his later years and spoke often of racial harmony. How are we to encourage others to follow his foot steps if, in our ignorance, we destroy his entire legacy?
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The 6th par. of his Wikipedia entry says:
Quote:
In the last years of his life, Forrest publicly denounced the violence and racism practiced by the Klan, insisted he had never been a member, and made repeated public speeches in favor of racial harmony.[22] As an effort of reconciliation, during a meeting with African Americans in 1875, Forrest accepted flowers from a black woman, a gesture that led to his being denounced by some of his former comrades in the Confederate Army.[23][24] Although scholars admire Forrest as a military strategist, he has remained a highly controversial figure in Southern history, especially for his role in the attack on Fort Pillow, his 1867–1869 leadership of the Ku Klux Klan, and his political influence as a Tennessee delegate at the 1868 Democratic National Convention.
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OK, there is a valid debate on whether the first leader of the KKK could technically be considered a member, the racism he contributed to is perhaps why that change of heart is often overlooked.
Wikipedia says that 6 ex-Confederate soldiers formed the KKK between 12/1865 and 8/1866. A Google search for "KKK founder" revealed those 6 were James R. Crowe, J. Calvin Jones, John B. Kennedy, John C. Lester, Frank O. McCord, and Richard R. Reed.