/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5ee3f2fc8446ca00077d2294/0x0.jpg?w=1920&resize=1920,0&ssl=1 "Taylor Swift Calls For Statue Of KKK Leader To Be Removed From Tennessee Capitol")
TOPLINE
As Tennessee lawmakers debate whether a statue of an early KKK leader should be removed from the state capitol, musician Taylor Swift weighed in on Friday, calling for his bust to be taken down and asking the state to “consider the implications of how hurtful it would be to continue fighting for these monuments.”
Taylor Swift attends the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 05, … [+]
Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
KEY FACTS
Republicans have pushed back against calls from Democrats and protesters to remove the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general who was the first Grand Wizard of the KKK.
Swift said in a Twitter thread that the statue was a “monstrosity” and emphasized that he was a “brutal slave trader … who, during the Civil War, massacred dozens of black Union soldiers in Memphis”
Democrats also pushed for the state to nix Nathan Bedford Forrest Day, which is celebrated on July 13—but Republicans in the State Senate upheld the holiday while relieving Governor Bill Lee of making a public proclamation declaring the day.
Swift also called for the removal of the now-toppled statue of Edward Carmack, a newspaper editor who incited a mob to burn down journalist Ida B. Wells’ newspaper office because she spoke out against a lynching in Memphis.
Actress Reese Witherspoon, who spent much of her early life in Nashville, also called for the removal of Forrest’s bust earlier this week.
Crucial quote
“Taking down statues isn’t going to fix centuries of systemic oppression, violence and hatred that black people have had to endure but it might bring us one small step closer to making ALL Tennesseans and visitors to our state feel safe—not just the white ones,” Swift said.
Key background
Swift has slowly become more political over the last few years after staying silent during the 2016 presidential election. In 2018 she encouraged fans to vote for Democratic candidates in the Tennessee midterm election and has since spoken out about LGBTQ issues in addition criticizing President Donald Trump’s response to the Black Lives Matter protests earlier last month.
News peg
Protesters around the country are vandalizing, taking down or calling for the removal of monuments and statues commemorating Confederate soldiers or otherwise racist historical figures in the wake of George Floyd’s death. His killing at the hands of a white police officer has sparked a nationwide reckoning on race, touching nearly every facet of business, pop culture and politics.
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