NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee governors would no longer be required to issue a proclamation honoring a former Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader under legislation approved by the GOP-dominated Statehouse.
However, the state will continue to designate July 13 as Nathan Bedford Forrest day.
An original version of the bill removed the Forrest designation entirely but it was later amended after not receiving enough support from inside the Legislature.
Tennessee lawmakers have been long resistant to calls not to honor Forrest despite requests from their black colleagues who oppose such prominence for a former slave trader.