Sen. Brenda Gilmore on the Forrest bust vote: ‘We have begun to right a wrong’

NASHVILLE — Sen. Brenda Gilmore (D-Nashville) ​​​cheered the vote Thursday to move the bust of Ku Klux Klan grand wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest out of the Capitol and pledged to continue working until the memorial is gone.

Sen. Gilmore’s full statement is below:

“I want to thank the members of the Capitol Commission who voted in favor of removing Nathan Bedford Forrest from our state Capitol. Their action today is a direct result of the people who have made their voices heard on this issue since the bust was installed. Today we have begun to right a wrong.

“Today was a victory but the bust remains in the Capitol for now. Just as a political process is protecting the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust, systems of oppression are designed to make people give up. But we are not giving up. We will go to every meeting — no matter what — until this monument to white supremacy comes down.“