A bust of Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest and two other military leaders are to be relocated from the Tennessee Capitol to the state's history museum, the Associated Press reported.
The move, approved by a 5-2 vote by the State Building Commission Thursday, follows years of protests over the Forrest bust's 1978 installment in the Capitol. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee recently reversed course and voiced support for the bust's removal after saying in 2018 he would not advocate for taking it down since "the Ku Klux Klan is a part of our history that we're not proud of in Tennessee, and we need to be reminded of that."
"Much like this bust symbolizes the pain and suffering of slavery and terror, removing the likeness of Nathan Bedford Forrest from a place of honor in Tennessee's Capitol is a symbol for much needed reconciliation," said Black lawmaker Sen. Raumesh Akbari from Memphis.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below:
The decades-long effort to remove the bust of Forrest cleared its final hurdle Thursday due to the seven-member State Building Commission.
Some have called for adding more historical context to the bust.
Tennessee's Black legislative caucus has been particularly vocal about how painful it has been to walk by the bust, displayed prominently between the House and Senate chamber, as they carry out their work each day.
"No doubt we have work to do to achieve equality and justice for all people, but today's vote shows that progress is possible," Akbari said. She is also the Senate's Democratic caucus chairwoman.
Forrest was a Confederate cavalry general who amassed a fortune before the Civil War as a plantation owner and slave trader in Memphis. After the war, he was a leader of the Klan, which terrorized Black people as it sought to reverse Reconstruction efforts and restore white supremacy.
Earlier this year, Tennessee's Historical Commission voted 25-1 to move the three busts just north of the Capitol building to the state's museum, noting it was better equipped to furnish the appropriate historical context.
However, the Statehouse's top Republican leaders argued the bust could not be removed without approval from the State Building Commission. House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Speaker Randy McNally both expressed disappointment with Thursday's outcome.
"No one is arguing that Forrest is not a problematic figure. He is. But there is more to his story. His life eventually followed a redemptive arc which I hope is outlined in great detail in our state museum," McNally said in a statement, adding that the vote signaled that some advocates will likely find another monument to "demand that we again kneel at the altar of political correctness."
The GOP-controlled General Assembly has refused for years to advance legislation calling for the bust's removal.
However, momentum shifted when Lee changed positions and called for moving the bust out of the Capitol in 2020 amid national outcry over the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minnesota. Floyd's death sparked a new push to remove Confederate symbols, including the Forrest bust.
Lee's position was markedly different than when he first came into elected office in 2018.
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