A golf course in Franklin has dropped “Forrest” from its name to distance itself from Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest.
As of Sept. 22, The Forrest Crossing Golf Course is simply The Crossing Golf Course. Opened in 1986 along the Harpeth River, the course was named for Forrest’s crossing of the Harpeth during the Civil War. The championship course was designed by Gary Roger Baird and is owned by American Golf.
The corporation released a statement saying, “American Golf had been considering a name change for some time. We believe that the game of golf is a sport that can help bring people together despite their differences, and want everyone to feel welcome to play our beautiful course.”
Gov. Bill Haslam recently renewed a push to have a bust of Forrest moved from the Capitol to the Tennessee State Museum. Activists called for the removal of Confederate statues and monuments after violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, Aug. 12 between white supremacists and leftist counterprotesters. Some also called for the removal of monuments honoring America’s Founding Fathers.
Haslam had first advocated for relocating the bust of Forrest after nine people were killed in a 2015 shooting at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. The State Capitol Commission rejected the renewed request in a 7-5 vote Sept. 1.
Forrest was a slave trader before the Civil War and the most feared cavalry commander in the Confederacy, but later in life is said to have become a Christian and worked to advance civil rights.
They should call it The ‘Cave City ‘ Crossing golf course. Haslam will right at home.
That is a stupid move. Forrest was a historical person, and should be honored.