It's time to move the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust from Tennessee's Capitol, GOP leader says

Natalie Allison | The Tennessean

Show Caption Hide Caption Nathan Bedford Forrest's Tennessee ties As the debate rages on over the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest at the Tennessee Capitol, here's a quick look at the controversial figure.

Two years ago, Rep. Jeremy Faison was like most of his Republican colleagues when it came to the question of what to do with the bust of a Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader on display in the Tennessee state Capitol.

He said the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, an addition installed at the Capitol in 1978, was part of history and should be left alone.

Then the Cocke County Republican — whose own distant grandfather Paul Faison was a Confederate colonel — began to grapple with hard facts.

Rep. G.A. Hardaway, an African American lawmaker from Memphis, asked Faison if he had ever read any of Forrest's own writings about his ideology. The East Tennessee Republican began a process of understanding what he describes as the pain of Forrest's legacy.

Faison, who has since become chairman of the House Republican Caucus, believes the bust should now be removed from the Capitol and placed in the state museum.

"I fundamentally reject any notion by someone saying that moving him to the museum is trying to whitewash history," Faison said, referencing comments made by numerous Tennessee Republicans, including Gov. Bill Lee at one point, amid an ongoing debate about whether the state should relocate the bust.

"If we want to preserve history, then let's tell it the right way. Right now there are eight alcoves (in the Capitol). Seven are filled with white men."

Suffragist, Dolly Parton, Capitol slave other options to be honored

Faison said he could "think of 100 other people deserving of that post" than Forrest, who was a slave trader prior to the Civil War and led troops in the Fort Pillow massacre in West Tennessee.

There, the Confederate army killed hundreds of surrendered Union soldiers, most of whom were black, in what became known as one of the most infamous events of the Civil War.

Defenders of Forrest's legacy point to apologies for his actions he made later in life.

"How about getting a lady in there?" Faison asked. "My daughter is 16, and I would love for her to come into the Capitol and see a lady up there. What's wrong with Anne Dallas Dudley getting in that alcove?" Faison added, referring to the 19th-century women's suffrage activist from Nashville.

"What's wrong with someone like Dolly Parton being put in that alcove?"

He also noted that the Capitol building was constructed in part by slave labor, and that those slaves could also be recognized in the building today.

Faison, defining a museum as a place featuring "historical items of value," said his proposal was the most appropriate way to actually preserve history and allow people to understand it with all the necessary facts.

"Hitler has earned his place in history, but they don't put monuments of him in Germany anymore," Faison said. "There's plenty of people who are notable characters. That doesn’t mean they deserve to be in a place of honor."

Faison clarified that he was not comparing Forrest to Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler.

"My point is that we can remember and study history regardless of if there is a monument or not," Faison said. "I'm not at all saying Nathan Bedford Forrest is like Hitler. Forrest is a far better military man and history tells us that he did some good things for Tennessee."

Faison calls for commission process to be followed

Faison said he still firmly believes that the state's existing processes should be followed for removing the bust, which includes votes by both the State Capitol Commission and Tennessee Historical Commission.

But he would support the legislature passing a resolution encouraging those commissions to act accordingly. Faison is unsure whether he would be the one to introduce such a resolution, however.

The governor's office didn't immediately a respond to a question about when Lee will call for the Capitol Commission — to which he recently appointed two African-American members — to meet again. The Historical Commission is expected to have a regularly occurring meeting in late February.

Former Gov. Bill Haslam was in favor of moving the bust to the state museum, though the Capitol Commission voted against doing so at the time.

During his gubernatorial campaign and prior to being sworn in, Lee said he was opposed to the removal of the Forrest bust, explaining at the time he believed it would be "a mistake to whitewash history."

Soon after his inauguration, Lee in February conceded he was open to adding historical context and additional information to Forrest's bust. And after facing criticism for signing Nathan Bedford Forrest Day into law in July, the governor announced he would work to undo a state law that tasks the Tennessee governor with declaring a special day of observance in honor of Forrest.

Lt. Gov Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, has said he is in favor of adding additional context to the bust, but believes the historical and capitol commissions should make the final decision about the monument's location.

While running for the position this summer, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, also punted to the commissions' decision-making authority when asked about whether the bust should be moved to the museum.

Faison rebuffed the argument raised by some Republicans that removing Forrest will open up the door to a long list of other historic items needing to be reassessed.

"This is not about what the chain effect might be," Faison said. "Let's just do the right thing. Just because it might start a chain reaction doesn’t mean it's not the right thing."

Local Nashville television station WKRN on Friday reported Faison's change of position on the topic.

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.

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