Construction crews and volunteers arrived at a park in Memphis, Tennessee to begin the process of removing a pedestals and footings that used to hold statues so they can exhume the remains of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife, Mary Ann.
General Forrest was a slave trader and a founding early leader of the Ku Klux Klan. He and his wife were interred at what is now called Health Sciences Park.
Previously, the park was known as Forrest Park in honor of the proponent of slavery and White supremacy. It featured a statue of the Confederate general until it was removed on December 20, 2017 as part of a grassroots effort to remove a monument to a KKK founder in a public access park.
The changes were done in coordination with the Forrest family—descendants of the General and his wife—and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. To access and move the remains, the pedestal on which the statue stood had to be dismantled.
WMC Action News 5 reporter Chris Luther posted a thread covering the work.
The process of removing the remains of Confederate General, slave trader and early leader of the KKK, Nathan Bedford Forrest and his wife have begun in Health Sciences Park.\n\nRepairs are being made to the marble before it\u2019s all moved to Middle TN. In all, the work will take weekspic.twitter.com/iFWjR6zWTn— Chris Luther (@Chris Luther) 1622568612
During a press event at the site, Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer was harassed by a Confederate flag-waving construction volunteer as she was giving her remarks before the media.
The man—later identified as Sons of Confederate Veterans volunteer George "K-Rack" Johnson—also threatened Sawyer in front of cameras.
The crew contracted to remove the pedestal has put several confederate flags up on the fence.\n\nEmployees are also walking all the way around the fence to dump the bricks they are removing on top of the word \u201cBlack\u201d part of Black Lives Matter spray painted on the ground.pic.twitter.com/6YgbFlelts— Chris Luther (@Chris Luther) 1622570713
This man, part of the construction crew, has been harassing and yelling at Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer as she came to give an interview to the media.pic.twitter.com/bwz1mJs1Fu— Chris Luther (@Chris Luther) 1622573260
The man then started singing Dixie Land behind Sawyer. He also called her a Communist repeatedly.pic.twitter.com/9kGbRDoZ8a— Chris Luther (@Chris Luther) 1622573734
This construction crew was hired and paid for by the Sons of Confederate Veterans. \n\nShelby County Commissioner Van Turner and President of Memphis Greenspace, the non-profit that owns the park, says he wants the man, identified as George \u201cK-Rack\u201d Johnson, to be removed.pic.twitter.com/MTtHXO4El0— Chris Luther (@Chris Luther) 1622582132
I spoke with the owner of Wayne\u2019s Crane Workz. He told me Johnson DOES NOT work for his company. Johnson was with the Sons of Confederate Veterans helping with the work but is not employed by the company.\n\nThe owner says he does not condone or approve of Johnson\u2019s behavior at all— Chris Luther (@Chris Luther) 1622586294
Sawyer, who led the efforts under the group "Take 'Em Down 901 " to remove the statues of Forrest along with one of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, called Tuesday's pedestal-removal efforts a "full circle" moment.
She said:
"You cannot tell this story without telling the story of Take 'Em Down 901..."
"As with most change in this country and in this world, it can't be done without the power of the people and Take 'Em Down 901 is responsible for that."
As she was trying to comment on this moment and connect it to the Memphis Massacre in May 1866, the press conference was disrupted by the disgruntled volunteer, who even started singing at one point.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans spokesperson and Forrest descendant, Lee Millar, also officially condemned Johnson's behavior.
Lee Millar with the Sons of Confederate Veterans says Johnson was volunteering at the site today and will not be invited back in the future as the work continues.— Chris Luther (@Chris Luther) 1622587171
However none of the group's members on site took action to stop Johnson while it was happening.
In 2020, both parties agreed to remove the graves of Forrest and his wife.
Instead of the statues being banned from Tennessee for good, the Sons of Confederate Veterans took possession of the remains as well as the two statues and other items on display at the park under the current agreement.
Millar told reporters the Forrest family approved the relocation of the remains where the General would be "respected, protected, and visited without any danger, which is not the case here."
Last year, activists painted the words "Black Lives Matter" on the pavement in bright yellow paint surrounding the pedestal of Forrest's monument.
People were appalled by Johnson's behavior and his fellow volunteers failure to stop it.
This is so morally and ethically reprehensible.\n\nI would be speaking up to that dude if I witnessed this behavior.\n\nThe confederacy lasted 6 mere years; says a lot if you're obsessed 150 years later.— Mindy Sartorelli (@Mindy Sartorelli) 1622583253
The past isn\u2019t past. The old evils linger.https://twitter.com/cluther_wmc5/status/1399799829249892359\u00a0\u2026— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37 (@Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37) 1622624353
\u201cI\u2019m more of a gentleman than you\u2019ll ever be.\u201d \u2026.speaking to a woman(?). His arm is in a cast likely because he had already harassed the wrong person.— Kama_Muta\ud83c\udfdd (@Kama_Muta\ud83c\udfdd) 1622582411
Her hand movements...i can tell you right now...those cameras are the only thing preventing her from snatching his soul right out of his disrespectful body.— L u n g i s a (@L u n g i s a) 1622614207
And people had plenty to say about what his flag was symbolizing.
I wonder if it ever crosses his mind that when he waived that flag around, what he\u2019s saying is that he\u2019s a loser. The confederacy lost the war. Same thing for everyone waiving a tRump flag, he lost too.— RodgerC \ud83c\udf08 (@RodgerC \ud83c\udf08) 1622579659
Tell us all again how the confederate flag has nothing to do with slavery & racism. Every white supremacist carries that putrid flag. We should have purged them after the civil war. Instead, we let them bring this to the future.— Bill N Lori (@Bill N Lori) 1622599863
He's yelling "I'm a traitor!" with each wave of that traitor flag.— Steve ***GET YOUR DAMN SHOTS*** Magruder (@Steve ***GET YOUR DAMN SHOTS*** Magruder) 1622582265
Commissioner Sawyer was physically unharmed but plans to file charges.
Commissioner Sawyer says she plans to file charges.\n\nShe left the park physically unharmed.pic.twitter.com/YyxvYPpon2— Chris Luther (@Chris Luther) 1622582405
The park will host an event celebrating Juneteenth—also known as Emancipation Day.
Hopefully Johnson and those who share his views will stay home or choose peaceful coexistence.
