NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) —The governor wants the state Senate to prioritize a bill getting rid of Nathan Bedford Forrest Day. That’s July 13. Forrest was a confederate general and leader of the KKK.
The governor’s office sent a statement saying:
"We asked the Senate to take up this important bill as it has already passed the House and is time-sensitive. The governor has made clear he believes the law should be changed, and this bill will accomplish that."
People gathering in Franklin Thursday, part of the “End White Silence” rally, said they thought the move was a smart one.
“I believe that making that change is truly necessary to actually make the step forward in the right direction that we need to,” Franklin resident Nike Anifowoshe said.
Not everyone has that opinion, however.
Troy Maynor, a Nashville resident, said, “You can’t erase history; you can only learn from it. If you erase it, then people take the chance of repeating the mistakes we made in history.”
There’s actually two bills regarding Nathan Bedford Forrest Day in the state legislature. The first one deletes the state law requirement that the governor make it a holiday. That’s the one that’s passed the house.
The second one removes the holiday altogether. That is working through both houses right now.