Finding A Legal Loophole, Memphis Takes Down Its Confederate Statues

This statue of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest was removed from a park in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday night, following the sale of the park to a nonprofit group.

Adrian Sainz/AP

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Adrian Sainz/AP

This statue of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest was removed from a park in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday night, following the sale of the park to a nonprofit group.

Adrian Sainz/AP

It was a long time in the making, but when the statues of Confederate figures finally came down in Memphis, Tenn., it was quick work.

Yesterday, the city sold two of its city parks – one with a statue of Confederate president Jefferson Davis, the other featuring a statue of Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest on horseback — for $1,000 each.

That night, work crews lifted the statue of Forrest from its base. Crowds of onlookers cheered the move, which was timed to occur at 9:01 p.m – a nod to the Memphis area code and the group Take ‘Em Down 901, which has been pushing for the statues’ removal.

“This is a victory for grassroots movements in the city,” said the group’s leader, Tami Sawyer.

“This happened because people mandated it and wanted it, she said to cheers. “Take ‘Em Down 901 is now Took ‘Em Down 901.”

The statues’ removal had been a goal of Mayor Jim Strickland, particularly before the city commemorates in April the 50th anniversary of the killing of Martin Luther King Jr., in Memphis.

Selling the parks to a private entity allowed the city to skirt the Tennessee Heritage Protection Act, passed in 2013 and amended in 2016, which prohibits the removal, relocation, or renaming of a memorial that’s on public property.

In a long post to Facebook, Strickland explained the context of the statues.

“It’s important to know why we’re here,” he wrote. “The Forrest statue was placed in 1904, as Jim Crow segregation laws were enacted. The Davis statue was placed in 1964, as the Civil Rights Movement changed our country. The statues no longer represent who we are as a modern, diverse city with momentum. As I told the Tennessee Historical Commission in October, our community wants to reserve places of reverence for those we honor.”

He said the city had sought a waiver from the Tennessee Historical Commission, but their request was denied, and subsequent mediation had not been successful. “I was committed to remove the statues in a lawful way. From the beginning, we have followed state law — and tonight’s action is no different,” Strickland wrote.

A nonprofit organization called Memphis Greenspace, Inc. filed for incorporation in October. And yesterday, the city council authorized Strickland to sell the two parks to the new organization. With the parks now in private hands, its owners were allowed to remove the Forrest and Davis statues, which were moved to an undisclosed location.

The nonprofit group is led by county commissioner Van Turner. It received about $250,000 in pledges and donations from supporters, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports, and will now maintain the parks.

The move did not sit well with Republicans in the Tennessee House, who called for an investigation on Thursday.

“We are governed by the rule of law here in Tennessee and these actions are a clear infringement of this principle and set a dangerous precedence for our state,” House Majority Leader Glen Casada and House Republican caucus chairman Ryan Williams wrote in a statement, according to the Commercial Appeal.

Among the questions the lawmakers will be asking is whether the city violated sunshine laws by coordinating the sale to a private company, and whether anyone was set to gain personally by selling properties at a lower-than-market price.

But today, the mayor and the many Memphians who wanted to the statues to go are jubilant.

“In the days after the August events in Charlottesville, we saw an avalanche of support come together behind our efforts,” the mayor wrote. “In all of my life in Memphis, I’ve never seen such solidarity.”

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All significant California wildfire evacuation orders lifted

All remaining significant evacuation orders for areas around the smoldering remnants of Southern California’s huge wildfire were canceled Thursday after a new round of winds caused little fire activity.

The lifting of evacuation orders and warnings in Santa Barbara County left only remote and little developed Rose Valley in the wilderness of neighboring Ventura County under an order barring residents and visitors.

Warnings of high fire risk were canceled for Santa Barbara County, although they remained in effect elsewhere in Southern California due to Santa Ana winds, low humidity levels and very dry vegetation.

The only visible flame was on the northern side of the fire where controlled burns set by firefighters to clear combustible material were being conducted in wilderness, said fire information officer Brandon Vaccaro.

About 18,000 homes and other buildings were still listed as threatened. Even when there’s no sign of flame or smoke, fires can rekindle.

The Thomas fire, which began Dec. 4, is responsible for two deaths, has destroyed at least 750 homes, and has burned about 425 square miles (1,100 square kilometers).

The blaze was 60 percent contained and is the second-largest in California’s history.

The latest round of winds was caused by the passage of a cold front into the area overnight. But firefighters had used three days of calm conditions to bulldoze containment lines and set controlled fires to clear dry brush.

Some residents stayed away from their homes at hotels and evacuation centers, while others waited at home and hoped for the best.

Katy and Bob Zappala had stayed in their home in Santa Barbara, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles, despite an evacuation order in place since Saturday.

“Our cars are packed, we have all our clothes and jewelry, so we’re ready to leave at a moment’s notice should we have to,” Katy Zappala, 74, said Wednesday.

The Zappalas and their cat, Madeline, decided against leaving their home after the evacuation order was issued because they knew authorities would not allow them back in.

“You’re always nervous when the winds come up,” Zappala said.

Days and days of fierce, often erratic gusts combined with extremely dry weather pushed the blaze with incredible speed as it moved through Ventura County’s agricultural Santa Clara Valley, into the city of Ventura and then moved northwestward, threatening the coastal communities of Santa Barbara County.

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Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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