The Memphis City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday to remove two confederate statues from Downtown Memphis.
Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest and former president of the confederacy Jefferson Davis have statues memorializing them in Memphis, and some citizens find them racist and representative of white supremacy. Forrest’s statue is located at the Health and Sciences Park, and Davis’ statue is located at Memphis Park.Â
According to attorney and councilman Allan Wade, these statues have no justification to be there and do not allow African Americans to enjoy the parks as much as other citizens. In the 1960s, there were 131 parks in Memphis, but only 25 of them were accessible to African Americans.
A police officer monitors the Nathaniel Bedford Forrest Statue at the Health Sciences Park. Due to recent vandalism, the statue is being surveilled by officers.
“The Forrest and Jefferson Davis statues were erected through the Jim Crow Era,†Wade said. “They were erected solely for white people. Period.â€
These statues were erected partially to reassert white supremacy in Memphis and to symbolize the confederate ideals, Wade said.
“They constitute a public nuisance under Tennessee law,†Wade said. “The violation of someone’s constitutional rights is precedent over state law.â€
Recent protests have called for the protection of the statues by the state, and Memphis Police officers work overtime in order to guard them, according to the council members.
Councilman Allan Wade discusses the effects Memphis' confederate statues have on the community. The city currently spends $64,000 on statue surveillance.
City Councilman Berlin Boyd said the state should send state troopers to protect the statues instead of taxpayers’ money paying the Memphis police officers’ overtime.Â
The total amount of overtime to police officers paid in August was $64,000, and the council members agreed the taxpayers’ money should not be used to protect the statues.Â
This motion has been on the table since 2015, but the Tennessee Historic Commission did not want to remove the statues because they are believed to be crucial to the history of the city.
“We’re not going to make a motion on this until after the historic commission decides,†Boyd said.
Community advocate Tami Sawyer discusses her views on the statues to local media. Tami is a part of the Black Lives Matter movement and the “Take ‘em Down 901” team.
Tami Sawyer, a community advocate, said the statues are a continued civil rights issue, and the city needs to take them down immediately. Â
“Constitution trumps state,†Sawyer said. “These statues are oppressive to the African-American community.â€
According to Sawyer, Gov. Bill Haslam did not make a decision on the statues, but put the decision-making to the city. She said he should have made it.
Larry Geater, a citizen at the city council meeting, said the statues represent white power and should be taken down.
“As long as these statues are standing, the white supremacists will stay in power,†Geater said. “When regime changes, statues fall.â€
Citizen Larry Greater advocates for the removal of Memphis' confederate statues. Greater said the statues enforce ideals of racism and bigotry. He said they are also costly to protect.
All 13 council members voted unanimously to take down the statues, but THC has not agreed yet.Â
A city council meeting will happen on Oct. 13 to hear whether THC agrees with the ordinance or not. The council members and Wade said they would wait to see if the historical commission changes their mind.
“If they don’t, then this ordinance says ‘unleash the dogs,’†Wade said.
