Sen. Lamar Alexander joins chorus seeking removal of Nathan Bedford Forrest bust from state Capitol

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander on Tuesday became the latest Tennessee lawmaker to express support for removing the controversial bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest in the state Capitol. 

"As I look at it now, I think it's not appropriate for General Forrest's bust to be in the place of honor in the state Capitol," Alexander said at an event in Nashville. 

The Republican senator said there are appropriate places to remember the Civil War, including in museums, birth sites and battlefields.

"But for a place of honor, such as the place in the state Capitol, between where the Senate and House meet, that's a place that ought to be reserved only for Tennesseans who inspired all of us and bring out the best in all of us."

Alexander said the country and state need to spend less time trying to erase history and more time trying to learn from it. 

"All the people of this country were involved in the Civil War at that time," he said. "There's a place to remember all of it."

Alexander's call for removing the bust comes nearly 40 years after protesters encouraged the former governor to take it down. 

At the time, Alexander said, "There are a lot of things we don't like in our past but that's not a good reason to remove the bust."

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When asked what's changed since then, Alexander said at the time he thought it was more important to appoint the first African-American state Supreme Court justice, approve the holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., and appoint the first African-American chancellor — all of which occurred during his time as governor.

Alexander's latest comments come just over a week after Gov. Bill Haslam expressed support, amidst protests, for removing the controversial Forrest bust from the statehouse.

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Two state commissions must give their approval before there bust of Forrest can be removed from the Capitol.

Calls for removing the bust of Forrest — a Confederate general who served as the first grand wizard for the Ku Klux Klan — and other Confederate statues around the country have escalated in recent days in the aftermath of a violent clash in Charlottesville, Va.

That's where a 32-year-old woman died after an Ohio man drove his car into a crowd of people protesting white supremacists.

Since the violent clash, there have been calls to remove controversial statues throughout Tennessee, including in Memphis, where locals are seeking to remove statues of Forrest and President Jefferson Davis from two public parks.  

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Beyond discussing the bust, Alexander said he opposed the upcoming planned gathering of white supremacists in East Tennessee.

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Confederate 28, a newly reformed white supremacist group, has made plans to rally at the Fort Sanders monument in Knoxville at 1 p.m. on Aug. 26, to protest its possible removal.

"They have a constitutional right to assemble," he said. "But the Constitution also guarantees that we are all Americans without regard to race. Their views are wrong, their views are not welcome. We need to say that loud and clear."

► More:Police block effort to cover Forrest statue, arrest protesters

The Knoxville News Sentinel contributed to this report. 

Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.