Ku Klux Klan Plan Rally In Memphis After Renaming Of Park Of KKK Leader Nathan Forrest

The KKK (Ku Klux Klan) has put in a permit to hold a rally in Memphis, Tennessee due to renaming of the Nathan Bedford Forrest Park, Confederate Park and Jefferson Davis Park.

The group, who put in an application to hold the rally in Memphis, TN on March 30, has received opposition from the The Sons of Confederate Veterans who fear that things may get ugly if they come and possibly trigger an anti-Klan rally.

The news of the KKK wanting to have a rally in Memphis comes after the City Council voted to strip Forrest’s name from the downtown park and call it Health Sciences Park in February. In addition to the renaming of Nathan Bedford Forrest Park, there were also other name changes put into place to change Confederate Park to Memphis Park and Jefferson Davis Park to Mississippi River Park.

So why are the KKK upset? The park was named after Confederate fighter Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Not only was he an Army lieutenant general, Nathan Bedford Forrest is also stated to have a slave-trading past and ties to the Ku Klux Klan, allegedly as the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan in 1867. Nathan Bedford Forrest Park features a human-like bronze statue in honor of Nathan Bedford Forrest on a horse.

Meanwhile, although opposing the rally, Lee Millar, the spokesman for the Sons of Confederate Veterans, believes the names should be left as is also due to it being a part of history, reports say.