On July 13, 2019 the governor of Tennessee issued a proclamation observing Nathan Bedford Forrest Day. Forrest was reputedly the first Grand Dragon and commander of the terrorist group the Ku Klux Klan. Gov. Bill Lee’s statement was brief and hardly an endorsement of Forrest. He said he signed it because Tennessee law requires him to issue proclamation for Forrest, Robert E. Lee, and the Confederate dead.
The proclamation was widely condemned, including by Ted Cruz who tweeted; “This is WRONG. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a Confederate general & a delegate to the 1868 Democratic Convention. He was also a slave trader & the 1st Grand Wizard of the KKK.” The other condemnations were a lot less kind.
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