Haslam Says Locals Should Control Statues, Alexander Comes Out Against Forrest Bust

MEMPHIS, TN — Two of Tennessee's top Republicans are changing their tune on statues, with Gov. Bill Haslam saying local governments should be empowered with decisions about Confederate monuments and U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander saying he was wrong to defend to the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest in the state's Capitol when he was governor more than 30 years ago.

At an appearance in Memphis, Haslam made an uncharacteristically straightforward statement about the Confederate monument controversy which has erupted again in the wake of a deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va. that ostensibly began as an effort to preserve a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee there.

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“I think the City of Memphis should get to decide what happens on its own property,” the governor told reporters.

Memphis is a flashpoint of the monument controversy, with activists calling for years for the removal of a large statue of Forrest — a Confederate general, early Ku Klax Klan leader and slave trader — and the city council requesting the state's permission to do so, as its required under the Tennessee Historic Preservation Act of 2016, which Haslam signed into law.

That law requires approval of the controlling body — in this case the Memphis City Council — plus two-thirds of the Tennessee Historic Commission, of which Haslam is a member.

"I have to follow the law like everyone else does," Haslam said. "I would like it dealt with sooner rather than later for everybody."

The THC's next scheduled meeting is October 13 in Athens and Haslam said it is up to the chairman of that body — Fisk University history professor Dr. Reavis L. Mitchell, Jr. — to make decisions about scheduling.

Meanwhile, Sen. Lamar Alexander said he was wrong to support keeping the bust of Forrest in the State Capitol when he was governor between 1979 and 1987,

"I, like other people, learn as we go along," he said. "As I look at it now, I think it's not appropriate for General Forrest's bust to be in a place of honor in the State Capitol. I'd rather see Howard Baker or Sam Houston or Minnie Pearl or Ben Hooks or someone who inspires all of us."

Alexander supports relocating monuments to battlefield parks, museums or the birthplaces of the subject.

Images via United States Department of Agriculture/United States Senate