RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — When talking about a Confederate monument, you usually hear arguments about heritage or hate. But on Friday, Juneteenth, all we heard was silence.
Make no mistake, almost everyone NewsChannel 5 spoke to had an opinion, just not one they wanted to share on camera. Rutherford County citizens on both sides of this issue told us they feared for their safety if they spoke up.
A new petition, with nearly 2,000 signatures, is calling for a Confederate statue on the Rutherford County Square to be taken down and relocated to a cemetery or museum.
The debate over this statue isn't new. Last year, someone vandalized the memorial with paint. Saturday, a protest is planned at the base of the monument, to call for its removal.
Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron declined an interview, but referred us to a lengthy statement where he calls for the statue to remain in place because they're converting the old antebellum courthouse into what he calls a "working museum."
He hopes to add monuments and exhibits both inside and outside and wants the whole square to represent Rutherford County's complete history. His statement reads in part:
Our “working museum,” both inside and out, must portray the full history of Rutherford County. Our history is not always pleasant. Traders once sold enslaved people at the square. The Cherokee Trail of Tears passed through the town square. A Civil War battle was fought on the town square. Jim Crow segregation once held sway in the courthouse and entire county. Lynchings have taken place in our county. We must learn from those injustices. But we also must recognize our story is full of citizens who made a difference. Their journey for progress, hope, love, and unity has served to make our community a stronger, better place to live.
But even if Ketron wanted to make a change, he wouldn't be allowed to, at least not by himself.
The Tennessee Heritage Act says a memorial may not be removed or altered without two-thirds of the Tennessee Historical Commission's approval.
The Tennessee Historical Commission is the same group that has blocked the renaming of Forrest Hall on Middle Tennessee State University's campus and a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest from being removed at the Capitol.
In the meantime, the statue still stands. The arguments, spoke and unspoken, continue.
