MTSU students, most of them black, demanded the name of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest be removed from the university’s ROTC hall, some calling it “institutionalized racism” at a Tuesday forum.
“Every day I walk past a building named for a man who traded, sold and killed my ancestors,” said MTSU student Arin Cooper, making note of Forrest’s pre-Civil War occupation in the slave trade and post-war connection to the Ku Klux Klan.
Speakers made their points before the university’s Forrest Hall task force appointed by MTSU President Sidney McPhee to make one of three recommendations by April: Change the hall’s name, maintain it with a historical explanation or take no action. The president could follow up with a proposal to the Tennessee Board of Regents, and the matter would be considered ultimately by the Tennessee Historical Commission.
Students also raised questions about the massacre at Fort Pillow where Forrest called for surrender before his troops stormed the fort, slaughtering black and white Union soldiers.
Cooper contended the name Forrest Hall, placed on the building in 1958, glorifies genocide, violence and “disrespect for diversity,” violating the university’s True Blue code.
Charlie Hood, one of several speakers who favor keeping Forrest’s name on the building, said the Fort Pillow incident followed the burning of people’s homes in the Memphis area and though he acknowledged some of Forrest’s troops lost control, based on historical reports, the general ended the massacre when he arrived.
Even though most of the students called Forrest a “racist,” those who supported keeping his name, all of them white men, reminded them to keep Forrest’s time frame in mind, arguing the attitudes of the 1860s could not be compared to the viewpoints of today.
Erasing history because of flawed character would ultimately doom people to repeat it, several people said, urging the students to pour their energy into other problems in the world.
“There is a history point to be learned from it, not to be ignored,” said Charles Kilgore, who contended “all history matters.”
Some of those who back Forrest’s name said 3,000 black people attended his funeral because he worked to improve their lives after the war ended.
State Rep. Mike Sparks reminded the crowd about the story of John Newton, a slave trader who went through a life-changing experience and wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace.”
The Smyrna Republican pointed toward other problems such as the payday loan industry and drug addiction, both of which affect a high percentage of the black community.
Matthew Pope told the group, “I see a lot of offended people. I’m just really shocked this name really bothers you that bad when there’s a group of people on the other side of the world who want to kill us all.” He was one of several who pointed out the Islamic State wants Americans to be pitted against each other instead of focusing on it.
However, students such as Brandon Woodruff asked why a building remains on campus that not only disrespects the call for diversity in MTSU’s True Blue code but also alienates a large group of students, including him each day he walks past it.
“I just don’t understand why we can’t change it,” Woodruff said.
Amanda Brown, an MTSU graduate student, pointed out MTSU can’t continue to call itself an educational institution if it holds on to “ignorant traditions.”
“It is time to topple over another monument dedicated to the wrong side of history,” she said.
Forrest is considered a military genius, especially in guerrilla warfare, though he never commanded a full army. (continue reading)