Taylor Swift wants statues of 'racist figures' removed from Tennessee, internet says 'History can't be revised'
Taylor Swift is calling for action to permanently remove monuments that "celebrate racist historical figures who did evil things" in her home state of Tennessee. In a series of tweets the singer wrote on June 12, she said that “Edward Carmack and Nathan Bedford Forrest were DESPICABLE figures in our state history and should be treated as such."
“Edward Carmack’s statue was sitting in the state Capitol until it was torn down last week in the protests," the pop star said of the statue for the one-time Tennessee senator. "The state of Tennessee has vowed to replace it. FYI, he was a white supremacist newspaper editor who published pro-lynching editorials and incited the arson of the office of Ida B. Wells (who actually deserves a hero’s statue for her pioneering work in journalism and civil rights). Replacing his statue is a waste of state funds and a waste of an opportunity to do the right thing," Swift noted.
The singer then spoke about the Nathan Bedford Forrest Equestrian Statue, a 25-foot monument dedicated to the Confederate general and KKK grand wizard which she calls a "monstrosity." Swift said, “Nathan Bedford Forrest was a brutal slave trader and the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan who, during the Civil War, massacred dozens of black Union soldiers in Memphis,” adding, “His statue is still standing and July 13th is ‘Nathan Bedford Forrest Day.’ Due to social pressure, the state is trying to overrule this, and Tennesseans might no longer have to stomach it. Fingers crossed.”
Swift is also calling for the Capitol Commission and the Tennessee Historical Commission “to please consider the implications of how hurtful it would be to continue fighting for these monuments." In another tweet she wrote, “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 also said that “We need to retroactively change the status of people who perpetuated hideous patterns of racism from ‘heroes’ to ‘villains.’ And villains don’t deserve statues.”
While some of Swift's fans appreciate what she is doing, many do not agree. "I love Taylor Swift but famous people shouldn’t be involved in politics! It’s called history," said a fan while another wrote, "While I do agree that things need to change, those monuments are still part of Earth's history, as painful as it may be. People need them to educate other people in the future on how you respect others. You can't learn that from a history book..." One fan said, "Why stop there, you going to do the same to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson? As I was told they were slave owners. I agree with your two but where do we stop." Another said, "History can’t be revised but should be put in context."