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July 13 is "Nathan Bedford Forrest Day" in Tennessee
They should rename it the Fort Pillow Memorial Day.
I agree with the blue. Put the man into context for the evil deeds he did. What occurred at Fort Pillow was horrific.
A first hand account by one of the white union soldiers at Fort Pillow:
Quote:
Many of the colored soldiers, seeing that no quarters were to be given, madly leaped into the river, while the rebels stood on the banks or part way up the bluff, and shot at the heads of their victims."
Leaming fell on the side of the bluff near the bank of the Mississippi River. “I could plainly see this firing and note the bullets striking the water around the black heads of the soldiers, until suddenly the muddy current became red and I saw another life sacrificed in the cause of the Union,” he wrote.
Then Leaming noticed a black soldier in the river, clinging to life. “Two confederate soldiers pulled him out,” Leaming recalled. “He seemed to be wounded and crawled on his hands and knees. Finely [sic] one of the confederate soldiers placed his revolver to the head of the colored soldier and killed him.”
Confederate soldiers pulled down the stars and stripes flag, Leaming wrote, “and hoisted the stars and bars."
How exactly did you become a clairvoyant expert on "white people in Tennessee".
Historians cite what the poster stated as factual.
I know you all like to blame the "leftists" lol, but it makes sense that most of these monuments and holidays were a direct "rebel" (i.e. racist) response to the climax of the Civil Rights era in the 1950s and 1960s. The main times when "rebel" (racist) southerners hoisted confederate monuments was during heights of various waves of Civil Rights activities by black Americans - this includes the 1880s-1890s, then the WWI era and then after WWII to the 1970s.
Of the Civil War itself was the ultimate atrocity perpetrated by Lincoln. Shall we tear his statues down?
Lincoln didn't start the Civil War - the Confederates did, which is a reason why, if we are going to tear things down, their monuments should be torn down.
However, I'm not for tearing down all monuments. I feel they should be put into the correct context and the nation actually confront the fact that both the USA and CSA have historical cultures that focused on the supremacy of the "white race." I also feel that confederate monuments in "malls" and other public spaces where space is available, should have a counter-monument regarding the atrocities committed by those individuals and how they supported the idea that black people were inferior beings and they engaged in terrorism and murder of black people and white people who didn't agree with them. IMO context is much more important than removal. A monument to lynching victims and those massacred at Fort Pillow would be great to put Nathan Bedford Forest into a true historical context.
Note, our founding fathers also had ideas of white supremacy (as noted this was a historical cultural adherence of our nation's founding) and luckily, today most of the most famous homes of those men, do a better job of putting those men into a more human context in showing their good and not so good side as it related to slavery and ideas of white supremacy.
There are more statues of Forrest in Tennessee than the state's 3 presidents (Andrew Jackson, James. K. Polk, Andrew Johnson) COMBINED. Think about that and ask yourself why that is.
Stuff like this is just sad. Those statues should have never gone up in the first place. Unfortunately, this is just how the South was in those days. The fact that there are individuals who still consider Confederate soldiers to be heroes speaks to how some things just don't change.
Lincoln didn't start the Civil War - the Confederates did, which is a reason why, if we are going to tear things down, their monuments should be torn down.
However, I'm not for tearing down all monuments. I feel they should be put into the correct context and the nation actually confront the fact that both the USA and CSA have historical cultures that focused on the supremacy of the "white race." I also feel that confederate monuments in "malls" and other public spaces where space is available, should have a counter-monument regarding the atrocities committed by those individuals and how they supported the idea that black people were inferior beings and they engaged in terrorism and murder of black people and white people who didn't agree with them. IMO context is much more important than removal. A monument to lynching victims and those massacred at Fort Pillow would be great to put Nathan Bedford Forest into a true historical context.
Note, our founding fathers also had ideas of white supremacy (as noted this was a historical cultural adherence of our nation's founding) and luckily, today most of the most famous homes of those men, do a better job of putting those men into a more human context in showing their good and not so good side as it related to slavery and ideas of white supremacy.
I want to see Confederate monuments torn down. I hate Confederate monuments. Those Confederate monuments were erected as a big middle finger to Black people in the South. This is why I smiled when some people burned a Confederate flag.
This is the way I see it. Take all of the Confederate monuments and but them in a museum. Use them as a teachable moment. It should be "we used to lionize Confederate soldiers, and we don't do this anymore".
I want to see Confederate monuments torn down. I hate Confederate monuments. Those Confederate monuments were erected as a big middle finger to Black people in the South. This is why I smiled when some people burned a Confederate flag.
This is the way I see it. Take all of the Confederate monuments and but them in a museum. Use them as a teachable moment. It should be "we used to lionize Confederate soldiers, and we don't do this anymore".
What you stated at the bottom can be done in a public space. I support localities being allowed to do what they feel is right in their areas. There are many options for these monuments, but I agree with you they were erected as a "f-you" to black people and to highlight the idea of white supremacy.
But putting them into context IMO could be a much stronger statement than removing them. It would make people think. I'm all for folks thinking more.
What you stated at the bottom can be done in a public space. I support localities being allowed to do what they feel is right in their areas. There are many options for these monuments, but I agree with you they were erected as a "f-you" to black people and to highlight the idea of white supremacy.
But putting them into context IMO could be a much stronger statement than removing them. It would make people think. I'm all for folks thinking more.
I do agree it's good to get people to think. I also believe that a museum is the best place to do this. If this is to be done in a public place, at the least it should be done in such a way as to look like a museum. Such statues should have never been erected in the first place.
Like it or not, Confederate symbols and all that go with them will be here long after we're all gone. By then, the history books will probably have no mention of slavery or the Civil War. The period from 1861 to 1865 will be just mentioned as a "period of social upheaval".
Like it or not, Confederate symbols and all that go with them will be here long after we're all gone. By then, the history books will probably have no mention of slavery or the Civil War. The period from 1861 to 1865 will be just mentioned as a "period of social upheaval".
At the very least, Confederate statues should not be in public spaces. Put them in museums, but they don't deserve to be lionized or honored. Remember them, but do not honor them. Why should Nathan Bedford Forrest get lionized? Why should any Confederate general get lionized? Who does it represent? Is it doing anything to unite people and bring people together? Is it doing anything to forge a united southern identity among all races?
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