Petition drive hopes to remove Selma statue honoring KKK Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest

 

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 A monument honoring Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest in Selma, Ala.(AP file photo)

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Story by Birmingham News

SELMA, Alabama --  A petition on the social change web site Change.org has drawn more than 12,000 signatures urging the Selma City Council to remove an existing monument to former Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.

The petition drive is led by Selma community member Malika Sander-Fortier, according to a press release from Change.org.

The petition targets not only an original statue to the founding leader of the KKK but to plans of a group known as "Friends of Forrest" which wants to replace the bust stolen from the statue with a new one.

Sanders-Fortier plans to bring the petition to the council on Aug. 28, according the release.
The original bronze bust of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest vanished in March from atop a 7-foot-tall granite monument at Live Oak Cemetery in Selma. Its disappearance remains unsolved.