I received the email below from change.org today:
In Selma, Alabama, a new monument to the first leader of the Ku Klux Klan is under construction on public land.
More than 80,000 people so far have signed a petition on Change.org started by community activist Malika Sanders-Fortier, calling on the city council to stop construction and remove the monument. Click here to sign Malika's petition before signatures are delivered in person this Friday, September 14.
The statue is of Confederate General Nathan Forrest -- infamous as the first Grand Wizard of the Klan and for massacring black Union soldiers at the Civil War battle of Fort Pillow.
Selma is home to some of the most important events of the Civil Rights Movement -- including "Bloody Sunday," when 600 activists fighting for African-American voting rights were attacked by state and local police.
Unless the city council stops it, a "bigger and better than ever" monument will be constructed to honor Nathan Bedford Forrest. A group called Friends of Forrest built the original monument, and now the group is planning to lay concrete for a new foundation, add a new bust of the KKK founder, enclose the monument in a wrought iron gate, and add night lighting.
This Friday, Malika and other community members who oppose the monument will march in a reenactment of the historic Bloody Sunday march, and deliver petition signatures in person to a member of the Selma city council.
Thanks for being a change-maker,
- William and the Change.org team
Absolutely horrifying. Thought I should share.
No comments:
Post a Comment