MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Lawmakers who are members of the Black caucus describe Thursday's removal of the Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan founder's bust in the Tennessee capitol as a "small victory."
Rep. Antonio Parkinson, (D) Memphis, wants people to know the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust was put in the most prominent place it could be at the capitol.
"That floor of the Tennessee State Capitol, in particular, is the most powerful piece of real estate in the entire state," Parkinson said. "That’s where the rules are made."
Rep. London Lamar, (D) Memphis, said it was an insult to all Tennesseans to put a slave trader on a pedestal.
"I definitely can’t promise you this equals any policy change for anybody," Lamar said. "The people who died fighting for racial injustice at least they were honored today and know that their life meant something."
Some critics of the bust's removal, like Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, said it's "erasing history."
"It is much more productive to learn from our past and not repeat the imperfections of the past," Sexton said. "Any attempt to erase the past only aligns society with the teaching of communism, which believes the present dominates the past."
Parkinson said it's very simple that we need to learn the whole truth about Tennessee's history.
"You want people to know the truth so you don’t repeat the lies or the mistakes of previous years," Parkinson said.
Nobody believes removing a bust will somehow end racism in Tennessee.
"Until the hearts of man is affected and changed," Parkinson said. "That’s something that they have to want then we will still be operating in the same space."