Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Phillips Tennessee, It's Time to Let Nathan Bedford Forrest Rest
Posted by Betsy Phillips on Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 5:48 AM
- Courtesy of Chris Wage
- From this statue, I learn that Nathan Bedford Forrest was made of Playdough.
Interestingly enough, kissing a black woman in public, when you are a white man she can't say no to, seems not to erase people's memories of Fort Pillow.
I mention this because there seems to be some confusion over in Memphis about whether we can't still use Forrest as some kind of valuable teaching tool about history and the Civil War. Chris Peck at the Commercial-Appeal says he'd like to see a Nathan Bedford Forrest exhibit at the Civil Rights Museum.
In a year that will mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, Memphis could make real social progress by trying to bridge the gap between those who say the war was about states' rights and those who say it was about slavery. In fact, wasn't it about both? The Southern economy in the 19th century was driven by cotton farming and cotton exports, which gave the South its own culture and class system. But that regional economy couldn't have prospered without the indefensible practice of human slavery and free labor. Could Memphis at least agree on that much 150 years after the fact?
Regardless of what you think the reasons for the Civil War were, there were black Memphians at Fort Pillow. Nearly all of them were killed. But you know what? They had families. Their communities suffered from their loss. What would a Nathan Bedford Forrest exhibit at the Civil Rights Museum do but reinforce the idea that Tennessee puts more stock into redeeming him than mourning them?
All I'm asking is that we give Nathan Bedford Forrest a rest. Let's not put up ugly statues of him. Let's not fight over where to put his dead body. Let's not see how we can insult people by suggesting we give room to him in the Civil Rights Museum. Let's stop literally and metaphorically dragging him out of the ground to fight about him.
It seems the kindest thing we can do all around. Let him rest in peace.
Comments (14)
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Actually, Betsy, *I'm* confused. I read this [and it's the complete original] and it hardly seems to be a proposal to "redeem" Forrest. Indeed, it appears to be a proposal to give the Forrest worshippers their comeuppance by placing the man in the context of racial history, where he belongs. Giving Forrest a rest, as you say, means shoving him underground, where his cult can continue to flourish untroubled by the disinfectant of sunlight.
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Yeah, I'm not buying it. The Civil Rights Museum already dedicates space in its permanent collection to the Civil War, so why would they need another exhibit devoted to the Civil War that included Nathan Bedford Forrest more prominently, except to continue to worry over him? The thing about Forrest's cult is that, unlike many other figures from the Civil War, their facts and everyone else's facts about him are the same. There is no need for more sunshine. The sun is shining as brightly on him as it can shine.
Everyone acknowledges that he was a slave trader. Everyone acknowledges that he was a military genius. Everyone acknowledges that he and his men massacred people at Fort Pillow. Everyone acknowledges that he was a high-ranking member of the original Klan. Everyone acknowledges that he quit the Klan, that he spent a lot of time trying to explain or justify Fort Pillow, and that he was not the kind of racist you might expect him to be in his old age.
The argument is over whether some folks who like him can like him without being publicly embarrassed about it.
Putting him on exhibit in the Civil Rights museum isn't going to convince folks who think Forrest fans should be embarrassed otherwise and it isn't going to bring people who otherwise would never step foot into the Civil Rights museum in there to learn what they already know about Forrest.
And it's insulting to the Civil Rights museum to say "Oh, and we need you to spend some time on this guy who sold and terrorized and massacred black people, so that we can better understand his context." If they want to have a special Civil War exhibit, like I said, let it focus on the men who were killed at Fort Pillow. Let's understand their context.
Worry over Forrest is a means of redeeming him, of saying that, in spite of his flaws, he's worth our continued discussion.
I'm sure there could be a useful exhibition on Forrest somewhere. I'm baffled about why it should be at the Civil Rights Museum.
Yes, let's give Nathan Bedford Forrest a rest. So, how about no more posts about him on this blog based on something as insignificant as one columnist's spitball idea. The post here is several times larger than what it's based on.
"I'm sure there could be a useful exhibition on Forrest somewhere."
Of course there can be that. I don't know where either, but obviously it needs to be where it will be a money-maker. After all, Tennessee has a ready, motivated cadre of un-reconstructed redneck citizens in possession of enough money to celebrate a character of his ilk. To be convinced all one has to do is observe our aggregation of legislators; or the impressive collection of bass boats at Percy Priest when the weather is fine.
Our very own number one spitballing pundit has regurgitated something deserving consideration here. After all, "Walking Tall" generated lots of bucks. Why not Nathan Bedford too. Hell, there's already a potential front door exhibit. Just eyeball the I-65 statuary pictured above.
(Might even be something the Belcourt symposium should consider, Pink.)
I agree with Pete. I don't get why it makes any sense to put Forrest in a civil rights museum, unless you're tying civil rights to the whole long history of slavery, expand it to the size of 20 football fields, and also include exhibits about the first slave ships that arrived in 1619.
A Civil War museum would be an interesting project, but don't jam it into the Civil Rights Museum.
As to Chris Peck's argument, no, the Civil War can't be about both states' rights and slavery. The only right they cared enough about to secede over was slavery. Read some of the various states' articles of secession, which make it very clear that it was about slavery.
A dependable source of labor was essential to the cotton economy. Slavery was not, as Southern planters proved when they came up with sharecrop system after slavery ended.
Having some nutty old coot buy a piece of property by the interstate and erecting a Forrest shrine is one thing. Bu part of the issue in Memphis is the existence of a Forrest statue in a prominent public park that is named for Forrest. Many black Memphians are affronted by the official-ness of it, the same way black South Carolinians are affronted by the waving of the Stars and Bars on official state flagpoles. And I don't blame them.
Chris, I have a better idea than yours. Build a Forrest Museum for the Study of Race, Slavery and the Civil War. Move Forrest's statue there. Rechristen Forrest Park as Steve Cohen Square, Strawberry Fields, or Somethin.
Ah, ha, this sounds sort of like criticism of the objections to the mosque at 9/11. Not exactly but close enough.
Sure'rn hell does, John. Goddammit, Red-necks have civil rights just like Muslims, KKK'rs, or whomever. Any properly just thinking liberal will happily explain that.
C'Mon, Man. It's ironic that this is being discussed in Nashville, where most people give you a second, distrusful look when you mention you're recent move from Memphis. Anywho, any God-fearing Middle TN white man would rarley if ever go to The Civil Rights Museum, much less Memphis. Unless of course they be goin to The Rendezvous.
That's one of the most ridiculous looking, laughable examples of statuary I've ever seen. I remember chuckling every single time I drove by it. It does nothing to glorify the man, be he right or wrong in his sensibilities. If he was such a great man, let the folks who think so build an appropriate tribute somewhere... anywhere... but, to paraphrase Mr. Raygun: "Mr. ______, tear down that statue!"
We have some new modern day racists now. Tea Party. Loaded with hate and racist. No answers, no guts, no glory just anger and hate.
I remember reading some time ago that the statue was erected by a lawyer. Fancy that.
Maybe in this civil rights museum they can include an exhibition that lists all the Northern miltary units that fought to end slavery and list the number of white soldiers from each unit who died for the cause. I can't ever remember anybody ever saying anything about their sacrifices other than Ken Burns. It's about time they were honored, don't you think? (Don't call me a damn Yankee. I was born in Arkansas.)
