Fearing a new Tennessee bill which would have forbade changing names of parks for historical persons, the Memphis City Council renamed Nathan Bedford Forrest Park, Jefferson Davis Park and Confederacy Park yesterday.
An online ABC News article about it is here:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/memphis-renames-parks-honored-confederacy-18414958
Vote was 9 to 0 in favor of renaming the parks with 3 abstentions.
Evidently when the City Council was faced being stuck with these names forever, they were propelled to act.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) attempted to defend the park names with their usual delusional historical claims. From the article;
The Sons of Confederate Veterans and others in Memphis oppose the name changes, saying that Forrest is a misunderstood figure who was not a racist but a businessman who treated his slaves humanely and resigned from the Klan.
"We should cherish the history that we have, we shouldn't cover it up and try to bury it or hide it," said Becky Muska, who spoke against the name change.Ms. Muska is obscuring the issues, it isn't an issue of covering up history, it is an issue of honoring someone. There is something different between a memorial to those Forrest victimized and a memorial glorifying him. As for history, shouldn't we objectively study it, and not drool over it and coat it with sugar or misrepresent it. This is what Muska is advocating, a misrepresentation of history under the guise of sentimental statements.
The Memphis City Council was correct in what they did, but somebody needs to let Beck Muska and the SCV know that their arguments are the nonsense of delusional misrepresenting buffoons.
It does show that once a city has motivation, they can move and rid themselves of Confederate and neo-Confederate nonsense.
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