In wake of Charlottesville, protests take aim at Nathan Bedford Forrest bust in Tennessee Capitol

For nearly two hours Monday, protesters urged Tennessee's leaders to finally take action and remove a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest from the state Capitol in Nashville. 

They sang songs such as “This Little Light of Mine” and voiced their frustrations in chants­ — “White silence is violence,” “Which side are you on?” and “Tear it down.”

Ultimately, they made their way from the Forrest bust between the House and Senate chambers to Gov. Bill Haslam's office, demanding an answer from him on the issue.

“My position on this issue has not changed — I do not believe Nathan Bedford Forrest should be one of the individuals we honor at the Capitol," Haslam said in a statement. "The General Assembly has established a process for addressing these matters and I strongly encourage the Capitol Commission and the Historical Commission to act.”

The bust of Forrest, a Confederate general and early leader of the Ku Klux Klan, has become a controversial issue in Tennessee. Removing it would take a two-thirds vote from the Tennessee Historical Commission, thanks to a law state lawmakers approved in 2016.

Monday's protest came in the wake of the demonstrations and violent actions by white nationalists in Charlottesville, Va., over the planned removal of a Robert E. Lee statue in the city. A 32-year-old woman died after authorities say a 20-year-old Ohio man rammed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters in Charlottesville.

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After the weekend's events, Moral Movement Tennessee turned its attention to the Forrest bust as scrutiny has intensified across the nation on what to do with symbols of the Confederacy that dot town squares and public buildings across the South. 

In Franklin, where Civil War history is intertwined with the community’s identity, about 30 gathered in the muggy air and rain on the steps of the Historic Franklin Courthouse to pray and remember those who were hurt and killed in Virginia.

Those who attended the vigil stood in the shadow of the Franklin Confederate monument, which has stood in the public square since 1899 to remember those who died in the Battle of Franklin.

Activist: 'White supremacy hurts you, too'

Justin Jones, the organizer of the protest at the Capitol, said they wanted to “send a message to our white brothers and sisters that white supremacy hurts you, too.”

At one point, more than 80 people took part in demanding the removal of the Forrest bust.

Joy Bronson, who was among the protesters and grew up in predominantly white neighborhoods, said that since the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012, racism has held an enormous space in her life.

Martin was an unarmed black teen shot by a neighborhood watch officer in a gated community in Florida.

“When issues like this arise, and they don't really arise because they are really always here, my grief comes from being in these predominantly white spaces where people constantly say they are shocked over what has happened,” she said. “My question is always, ‘Are you not listening when I’m speaking? Are you not listening when other people of color are speaking?’ ”

Meanwhile, Franklin Pastor Kevin Riggs, who led the group in prayer, told those gathered that “it’s time for the white community to stand up.”

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Outside the governor's office, which was roped off and guarded by Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers, protesters asked if the four state lawmakers with them — Democratic Reps. Brenda Gilmore, Harold Love and G.A. Hardaway and Democratic Sen. Jeff Yarbro — could enter.

They went in and came out about 30 minutes later saying the governor would release an additional statement.

“The governor has expressed his sentiment that the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust has no place in the Capitol,” Love said to cheers. “But it is a legislative process. It is up to us to do it the right way so that it can’t be put back in.”

Gilmore said the public showing had motivated her to renew her fight.

“I think it has been painful to me as a black caucus member, and also other members of the General Assembly, when we pass by this symbol of a very dark period in our history that represented hate and slavery,” she said.

“And although there has been legislation that has been passed that makes it very difficult and very cumbersome for us to remove symbols that represent hate, I think (this protest) has renewed my spirit to try again.”

Past efforts to remove the bust haven't advanced

Recent efforts to remove the bust began in 2015, after then 21-year-old Dylann Roof shot and killed nine people at Emanuel A.M.E. Church, a historically prominent black church in Charleston, S.C., because they were black.

Top Tennessee Democrats and Republicans, including Haslam and U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, at the time called for the bust's removal.

Then in February 2016, the state legislature passed the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act, which sets forth the process for the renaming or removal of controversial memorials or monuments.

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The process makes it more difficult to remove statues or rename streets dedicated to controversial figures, such as Forrest, from public property.

Sponsored by Rep. Steve McDaniel, R-Parkers Crossroads, the measure requires anyone interested in renaming, removing or relocating any statues, monuments and other memorials to receive a two-thirds majority vote from the Tennessee Historical Commission.

Previously, only a majority vote by the historical commission was needed.

The bust in the Capitol

No Confederate flag flies outside the Tennessee statehouse, but the bust of Forrest — who was born in Middle Tennessee — sits in between the state House and Senate chambers. The bust sits around a corner from others showing the likenesses of former Presidents Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk.

It's also roughly 15 paces away from a monument honoring the 14th and 15th amendments, which recognize black residents as citizens and give them the right to vote, and a bust of Sampson W. Keeble, the first black state lawmaker in Tennessee.

In 2010, the bust was moved from one position outside the House chambers to its current position to make room for the Keeble monument, according to The Associated Press.

At least 4 feet tall, the copper bust lists only Forrest's tenure as a general in the Confederate Army.

Forrest, a slave trader before the Civil War, rose from a private to a general, famously led cavalry during the war and was responsible for the massacre of hundreds of black soldiers after they surrendered at Fort Pillow. 

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The bust also does not note his former leadership of the KKK. He was not a founder of the organization, but was elected the first "Grand Wizard." He later left and rejected the organization.

Advocates have successfully petitioned to have Forrest monuments removed in the past. In 2013, Memphis gained national attention when it decided to change the name of what was then Nathan Bedford Forrest Park, along with two other parks with names associated with the Confederacy.

It isn't clear how long the Forrest bust has been in the statehouse. Inscriptions on either side of the bust list the years 1977 and 1988.

Reporters Adam Tamburin, Dave Boucher, Joel Ebert and Emily West contributed to this report.

Reach Jordan Buie at jbuie@tennessean.com or 615-726-5970 and on Twitter @jordanbuie.