Should Blacks in Memphis TN Pay Homage to Confederate Cavalryman, Slave Owner & KKK Member Nathan Bedford Forrest?

Residents of Memphis, TN, pay annual homage to former slave owner, Ku Klux Klan member and Confederate lieutenant general Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Why should African Americans be expected to celebrate the legacy of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a man who traded black slaves like they were cattle. Forrest, a Confederate cavalryman massacred black Union soldiers and was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, though he has been credited with helping to disband the KKK in 1869. Some said he may have been disturbed by the increasing violence as they tortured and made life a living hell for blacks. Some of his supporters said that is proof that Nathan Bedford Forrest wasn't a racist at all. According to the Star News, supporters have also praised Forrest for offering to free 45 of his own slaves and was very reluctant to divide families when he bought slaves. So, does that mean black residents of Memphis should join the celebration paying homage to this man?

The annual tribute Sunday to the hard-driving Confederate lieutenant general coincided this year with the 190th anniversary of his July 13 birth and the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, where he achieved his greatest success – and lasting notoriety.

The celebration in downtown Memphis at Forrest's burial site signaled that the cult of personality remains alive among the admirers of Forrest, a slave trader and cotton farmer whose deeds during and after the war still prompt division against those detractors who have deemed him a virulent racist. Source

Sorry, but Nathan Bedford Forrest's record as a slave owner and a member of the Ku Klux Klan doesn't absolve anything in my opinion. Some have even labeled Forrest as a civil rights pioneer after he accepted a bouquet of flowers from a black woman -- Lou Lewis -- before he delivered his speech on July 5, 1875.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I accept the flowers as a memento of reconciliation between the white and colored races of the Southern states. I accept it more particularly as it comes from a colored lady, for if there is any one on God’s earth who loves the ladies I believe it is myself.  I came here with the jeers of some white people, who think that I am doing wrong. I believe I can exert some influence, and do much to assist the people in strengthening fraternal relations, and shall do all in my power to elevate every man, to depress none.

I want to elevate you to take positions in law offices, in stores, on farms, and wherever you are capable of going. I have not said anything about politics today. I don’t propose to say anything about politics. You have a right to elect whom you please; vote for the man you think best, and I think, when that is done, you and I are freemen. Do as you consider right and honest in electing men for office. I did not come here to make you a long speech, although invited to do so by you. I am not much of a speaker, and my business prevented me from preparing myself. I came to meet you as friends, and welcome you to the white people. I want you to come nearer to us. When I can serve you I will do so.

We have but one flag, one country; let us stand together. We may differ in color, but not in sentiment. Many things have been said about me which are wrong, and which white and black persons here, who stood by me through the war, can contradict. Go to work, be industrious, live honestly and act truly, and when you are oppressed I’ll come to your relief. I thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for this opportunity you have afforded me to be with you, and to assure you that I am with you in heart and in hand.’