Taylor Swift advocated for the removal of confederate statues in her home state of Tennessee on Twitter. The pop star explained her objections to the statues in a series of tweets, explaining how keeping the statues was offensive.
Nashville protestors already tore down one statue depicting Edward Carmack, a Tennessee politician who served in the House of Representatives then Senate, as well as a newspaper editor. Carmack would use his newspapers to attack rivals, most notably civil rights journalist Ida B. Wells. Carmack was killed after trying to shoot rival publisher and politician, Duncan Brown Cooper. Carmack wounded Cooper’s son, Robin, who in turn, killed him. The state of Tennessee said on Monday they plan to replace the toppled statue.
Tennessee’s Heritage Protection Act states that memorials on public property cannot be removed without approval from the Tennessee Heritage Commission.
“Generally, the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act prohibits the removal, relocation, or renaming of a memorial that is, or is located on, public property,” the law states. “A public entity exercising control of a memorial may petition the Tennessee Historical Commission in writing for a waiver from the prohibition. After consideration of the petition, the Tennessee Historical Commission will vote on whether to grant or deny the waiver.”
Swift also called for the removal of a Nathan Bedford Forrest statue located in Nashville. However, the statue of Forrest is located on private property. The state of Tennessee would be unable to remove the statue due to the First Amendment. Tennessee state legislature recently passed bill stating governor Bill Lee will no longer be required to declare Nathan Bedford Forrest Day on July 13.
Swift’s series of Tweets captured her thoughts on why it is important to remove these statues, explaining how it perpetuates white supremacy and racism. She tells the state of Tennessee that those who “perpetuated the hideous patterns of racism are villains” and “villains don’t deserve statues.” She includes that removing the statues ensures all who visit Nashville and the state of Tennessee feel “safe and welcome.”
“As a Tennessean, it makes me sick that there are monuments standing in our state that celebrate racist historical figures who did evil things,” Swift said on Twitter. “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 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.”
“Then we get to this monstrosity. 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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“I’m asking 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.”
“When you fight to honor racists, you show black Tennesseans and all of their allies where you stand, and you continue this cycle of hurt. You can’t change history, but you can change this.”
Statues all across the US have been toppling, either due to vandalization or officially through the city. Most of the fallen statues have been of Confederate soldiers, however Christopher Columbus statues have also been removed throughout the United States and Canada.
Europe also saw a removal of statues and racist monuments, with protestors in Bristol tearing down statue of Edward Colston, who had been a slave trader. The famous Penny Lane has also been vandalized following claims the street had been named after slave trader James Penny. The four signs on Penny Lane, including one which has Paul McCartney’s autograph, had been spray painted over, the words “Racist” on the walls behind them. A screen over McCartney’s signature prevented the sign from being damaged.
Swift is not the only music artist advocating for change amidst the nation-wide protests. YG recently released video for “FTP” featuring footage from Hollywood’s Black Lives Matter protests. The music industry as a whole participated in Black Out Tuesday on June 2, where they ceased music promotion in observance of the Black Lives Matter movement. Following the death of George Floyd, numerous musicians spoke out against police brutality and in support of Black Lives Matter, and several musicians, including Halsey and J. Cole, took to the streets to join in protest.
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