Legislation would return Nathan Bedford Forrest bust to Confederate group in Maury County

Nashville Tennessean

A Tennessee senator wants to transfer the infamous bust of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, an early Ku Klux Klan leader from the state, to the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Sen. Janice Bowling, R-Tullahoma, filed a bill this week to transfer the bust to the Sons of Confederate Veterans General Headquarters in Columbia, Tenne. The Confederate group commissioned and donated the bust to Tennessee in 1977.

The statue of the first Grand Wizard of the KKK was removed from its prominent display at the state Capitol in July 2021. Gov. Bill Lee had called for Forrest's removal in July 2020, following years of protests from activists over the statue of the former slave trader.

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Bowling had previously criticized the bust's removal and supported a failed effort last year to overhaul the state's Tennessee Historical Commission after it voted for removal.

Bowling's proposed legislation says the Confederate group would assume complete control of the bust, and "taxpayer monies shall no longer be used to display, store, or maintain" the statue.

Bowling has not returned a request for comment.

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Workers remove the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust from the State Capitol as State Troopers stand guard Friday, July 23, 2021 in Nashville, Tenn. The State Building Commission on Thursday gave approval for the relocation of the Forrest bust to the Tennessee State Museum, a final step in a process that has taken more than a year since Gov. Bill Lee first said it was time for the statue to be moved.

The state spent at least $17,000 to move the statue last year to the Tennessee State Museum, according to the Tennessee Department of General Services.

The Forrest statue is displayed in the museum alongside other artifacts that were once in the Capitol, said Joe Pagetta, the museum's director of communications. The museum was made aware of the legislation on Thursday.

More:New display shows Forrest bust was not the first Tennessee Capitol art controversy

Reach Melissa Brown at mabrown@tennessean.com.

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