Oak Hill Mayor Asks Governor To Block Infamous Nathan Bedford Forrest Statue

OAK HILL, TN — Since 1998, a crazy-eyed, pistol-waving silver Nathan Bedford Forrest has loomed above Interstate 65 on his golden, forcené steed. The sculpture is objected to by many as offensive in subject — Forrest being a slave trader, Confederate general and early leader of the Ku Klux Klan — and in execution, as it was once named among the 10 most terrifying pieces of public sculpture in America.

With Confederate monuments once again subject of a national discussion in the wake of the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., effort is beginning anew to do something about the city's most infamous sculpture. Unlike others that are already coming down across the country or in peril of doing so, this piece of "art" is on private land and that creates a bit of a thorny situation.

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A popular solution bandied about for several years has been to raise the noise-abatement wall or plant extensive shrubbery on the stretch of I-65 to block the statue from view by passing cars. In 2015, the Metro Council asked the Tennessee Department of Transportation and Davidson County's legislative delegation to make that happen, but nothing was ever done. Now the mayor of the tony enclave of Oak Hill is reiterating that call.

In an open letter to Gov. Bill Haslam, Mayor Heidi Campbell asks the governor to urge TDOT to move forward with the obscuring project.

Dear Governor Haslam,
As our country struggles to make sense of the current divisive climate that plays out in terrible events like the recent conflict in Charlottesville, VA, I greatly appreciate your courage and leadership in expressing support for the removal of the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue from the State Capitol.
Adjacent to our City on Interstate-65 next to the northbound shoulder at ~mile marker 77, there is another large and unattractive monument to Mr. Forrest that was installed by a citizen on private property in 1998.
I know that you are aware of this eyesore, and TDOTs 2015 refusal to obscure it with landscaping, as you expressed disdain for the statue and concern about the legality of the council’s vote to do so.
Given the current political climate I respectfully request that you reconsider the council’s recommendation for landscaping. I believe that our minority citizens and neighbors need to know that we do not condone the galvanization of historical figures appropriated by hate-groups as exemplars of their cause.
Thank you for your leadership and your devotion to all of the people of our great state.

The statue shares the 37220 ZIP code with Oak Hill, but is not within the satellite city's bounds.

The statue was built by the late Jack Kershaw, a lawyer, who among other things, defended Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassin James Earl Ray, and is on land owned by Bill Dorris, who told WKRN he would simply raise the statue higher if shrubs or a higher wall went into place.

Image via Flickr user Brent Moore, used under Creative Commons