A state commission will meet Friday to discuss whether to remove a controversial bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest from the Tennessee Capitol — the debate could lead to a complete rethinking of who gets honored in Tennessee.
Calls to take down the bust came shortly after last month’s shooting in Charleston. Forrest was a slave trader and a celebrated Confederate general, making him one of the most divisive figures in the state’s history.
The sculpture sits on a pedestal directly across the hall from the Senate chamber. Rather than concede to its removal, Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey and House Speaker Beth Harwell have asked the State Capitol Commission for a complete review of all the Capitol’s statuary and artwork.
Supporters of Forrest note that he’s far from the only controversial Tennessean honored. Former Presidents Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk were slave owners, and former Gov. Ray Blanton was convicted of bribery. Yet the Capitol features sculptures or portraits of each of them.
The state architect is expected to give the commission new guidelines for figuring out whose images should be put up in the future. Those guidelines could determine the fate of Forrest’s bust and many other memorials.
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