Bizarre Nathan Bedford Forrest Statue Finally Removed After More Than Two Decades of Mockery
The statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest has stood for years on the private property of a man who once called slavery a form of “social security” for the Black community.

Nashville’s notorious nightmare fuel has finally been put to bed. After more than two decades standing on private property, a monument to Confederate general and KKK leader Nathan Bedford Forrest that overlooks a Tennessee interstate was pulled down Tuesday morning. The statue, which looks like, if it could talk, it would beg you to put it out of its misery, squatted for years on the grounds owned by Bill Dorris. Dorris, who died just over a year ago, was most recently known for making headlines after leaving $5 million to his beloved pooch, Lulu. He also called slavery a form of “social security” for the Black community in 2016. The statue was sculpted by Jack Kershaw, another slavery apologist whom Dorris judged a “mediocre” artist. Widely mocked, Forrest’s statue was also occasionally shot at and vandalized, with one memorable 2017 incident leaving the KKK’s first Grand Wizard and his horse coated in pink paint. New Channel 5 reported that the statue will be held in storage, possibly to be put up for sale in the future.
The laziest of all the Confederate monuments, which is either a statue of Nathan Bedford Forest or maybe 40 mufflers hastily stapled together, was taken down this morning. https://t.co/rvJ3E7z2FO pic.twitter.com/14mW8miNM5
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) December 7, 2021
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.