Loophole Allows Memphis to Remove Confederate Statues by Selling Parks

Workers removed Confederate statues from two parks in Memphis, Tennessee, on Wednesday, December 20, after the city voted to sell the parks to a private group.The city council voted to sell Health Science Park, home of a statue of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, and its easement on Fourth Bluff Park, where there was a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.The sale of the two parks allowed the Memphis Greenspace to remove the statues, which the city could not do. State law requires the Tennessee Historical Commission to approve the removal of the confederate statues, and the commission denied the city’s request in October.State officials have called for an investigation into the statues’ removal.This video shows the removal of the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue in Health Science Park on the evening of December 20. Credit: Instagram/Shay Johnson via Storyful