MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) -
Thousands of Ku Klux Klan members are coming to Memphis. The KKK is planning the largest rally they've ever had, and the issue surrounds the renaming of three historical Memphis parks.
Klansmember "Shane" doesn't want to reveal his identity, but says, "Memphis is fixing to see the largest Klan rally they've ever seen." He says with the City Council's move to change the name of Forrest Park, they're trying to erase history. "We're a Christian-based organization and we are not out to start a race riot or anything, but we feel it is wrong that they're trying to change the name of our park and we're going to stand up for that."
Shane says the local Klan has already been in contact with organizations across the country. By the end of February they plan to hold a peaceful protest, for change and understanding. Shane says, "(We want) our parks names not changed and maybe people to not be afraid of us anymore because we're not out to start trouble. We're just standing up for our race."
Others fear the worst. Lee Millar, a spokesperson for Sons of the Confederacy, remembers the violent scene on MLK day in Downtown Memphis, 1998. Police fired tear gas on hundreds of demonstrators as they advanced on a Ku Klux Klan rally. "We really hope they don't come to Memphis," Millar says, "The Klan has a bad rep."
Millar agrees that the park name should remain, but doesn't want the KKK involved. "I would hope the opponents of the Klan would not start a riot, Memphis doesn't need that," Millar continues, "but it certainly puts a black name on the city of Memphis for the Klan to even show up to oppose the lunacy of renaming a historic park."
Shane says the KKK members are not armed during rallies, but police are alerted and there to protect them if anyone tries to attack.
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The statue of Confederate fighter Nathan Bedford Forrest astride a horse towers above the Memphis park bearing his name. It's a larger-than-life tribute to the warrior still admired by many for fiercely defending the South in the Civil War - and scorned by others for a slave-trading past and ties to the Klan.
Though the bloodiest war on American soil was fought 150 years ago, racially tinged discord flared before its City Council voted this week to strip Forrest's name from the downtown park and call it Health Sciences Park. It also voted to rename Confederate Park as Memphis Park and Jefferson Davis Park as Mississippi River Park.
A committee has been formed to help the council decide on permanent names for the parks.
The changes have drawn praise from those who said bygone reminders of the Confederacy had to be swept away in what today is a racially diverse city. Critics cried foul, saying moves to blot out such associations were tantamount to rewriting the history of a Mississippi River city steeped in Old South heritage.
The struggle over Forrest's legacy and moves to rename other parks highlights a broader national debate over what Confederate figures represent in the 21st century as a far more diverse nation takes new stock of the war on its 150th anniversary with the hindsight of the civil rights era.
Although the Forrest name change had been expected, a simultaneous move by the City Council to rename Confederate Park and Jefferson Davis Park was not. It arose quickly after council members learned of pending state legislation aimed at preventing the renaming any parks honoring wars or historical military figures.
Kennith Van Buren, a local African-American civil rights activist, said stripping away park names tied to the Confederacy or its leading figures were overdue.
"It's very offensive," he said. "How can we have unity in the nation when we have one city, right here in Memphis, which fails to be unified?"
Most of the emotion over the council's action has centered on Forrest. His defenders, mostly white, cite Forrest's accomplishments as an alderman, businessman and military leader. Critics, black and white, say honoring Forrest glorifies a slave trader and Ku Klux Klan member.
Katherine Blaylock, a Memphis resident who opposes the name changes, defended Forrest and accused the council of trying to rewrite history.
"Memphis has always been a racially divided city," Blaylock, 43, said after Tuesday's meeting. "It's been a big clash since way back when. We do what we can to come together and be a community, but the antagonists that keep bringing it out on both sides are the bad apples."
Forrest lived in Memphis before the Civil War, working as a cotton farmer and slave trader. Though lacking traditional military training, he rose to lieutenant general in the Confederate Army. He became legendary for fast horseback raids that disrupted the enemy's supply lines and communications.
Forrest also led the siege against Union-held Fort Pillow in 1864. With the clear advantage, Forrest ordered Union Maj. William Bradford and his troops to surrender. Forrest's men then stormed the fort and killed about 300 soldiers, half of them black. They also took black and white prisoners.
Questions linger whether the Union soldiers at Fort Pillow were killed as they tried to surrender. Northern newspaper reports referred to the battle as an atrocity, but some historians say the deaths were a consequence of battle.
Forrest later became a member of the Klan, which intimidated and threatened Southern blacks. His level of involvement in the Klan is a source of argument, and he is believed to have helped disband the first incarnation of the Klan in 1869.
Supporters praise him for offering to free 45 of his own slaves if they would serve in the Confederacy. They also claim Forrest was reluctant to divide families when he bought slaves.
Forrest died in 1877 and his body was moved to Forrest Park in the early 1900s. The tree-lined park about as large as a city block is just miles from the old Lorraine Hotel, the site of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968.
King's murder is a cloud that lingers over Memphis long after the civil rights leader was slain. Race remains an undercurrent in many aspects of daily life. Not until last year did the city name its first street for King.
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http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sec...rld&id=8984485
Memphis issues demonstration permit for KKK rally
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They can’t carry guns or wear masks, but the city of Memphis on Tuesday issued a permit allowing the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan to rally on the steps of a Downtown courthouse on March 30.
Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong said at a media conference following the announcement that issuing the permit gives city officials the ability to control and formulate a plan for the KKK demonstration, which was triggered by a decision by the Memphis City Council to rename three Confederate-themed parks earlier this month.
“We will be more than prepared for this,” said Armstrong, noting that the city’s police department handles far larger special events and festivals.
Even so, the police director said that the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office has agreed to help police the Klan demonstration and that he will contact other local law enforcement agencies for similar help.
Memphis Mayor A C Wharton said the had deferred to Armstrong’s judgment on the permit decision as it relates to public safety, and “that’s what it’s all about.”
“We were never about the business of saying they could not come,” Wharton said. “We just wanted to make sure that everybody is protected and it’s safe and orderly.”
The mayor added: “I hope, though, that our citizens and residents will act as they always do and celebrate our diversity and our tolerance and just regard this as a nonevent. I’m begging them to do that and let these folks show up and do their thing and get out of town.”
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http://www.commercialappeal.com/news...mit-kkk-rally/
