In
Selma, Alabama, a monument to the first leader of the Ku Klux Klan is under
construction on public land.
The
statue of Confederate General Nathan Forrest -- infamous as the first Grand
Wizard of the Klan and for massacring black Union soldiers at the Civil War
battle of Fort Pillow -- even has the blessing of the Selma City Council.
Selma
is home to some of the most important events of the Civil Rights Movement --
including "Bloody Sunday," when 600 activists fighting for
African-American voting rights were attacked by state and local police.
Unless
the city council stops it, a "bigger and better than ever" monument
will be constructed to honor Nathan Bedford Forrest. A group called Friends of
Forrest built the original monument, and now the group is planning to lay
concrete for a new foundation, add a new bust of the KKK founder, enclose the
monument in a wrought iron gate, and add night lighting.
Malika
Sanders-Fortier is a community leader in Selma, and when she heard about the
plan for the monument she was outraged. Malika is proud of her city's place in
history, and she thinks that monuments celebrating violent racism and
intolerance have no place in this country, let alone in a city like Selma,
where the families of those attacked by the Klan still live.
Demand that town
officials remove the monument celebrating the first leader of the Ku Klux Klan.
Check on Change.org for details on Malika’s petition for action.
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