As a Memphian and an African American woman, I do not agree with revising and/or sanitizing history.  In my opinion it is a slippery slope at best.  What happens when other elected officials are in office?  Will they then rename those places and spaces that are controversial to them?

Furthermore, there are clearly other issues that one could say are more pressing than the naming of parks and other public spaces.  I learned about Nathan Bedford Forrest, at least in part, because of the park and the conversation it sparked in my household when I was growing up.

With that being said, however, I am more offended (but not surprised) by the seemingly seditious counter move in Nashville to legislate the authority of our own leaders to make decisions that they deem relevant and important to our city.

As much as I hear of the need for smaller and less government intrusion in local communities, this seems to be a complete slap in the face and counter to all that is espoused by those who hold this position.

Just as Memphis has more that we need to give our attention to it is also true that the state legislature certainly has more pressing matters of legislation to respond to, other than how Memphis chooses to name/rename her historical landmarks.

With that being said, I believe it is bad policy on top of bad policy.  At the end of the day how is the community uplifted by either action and/or reaction?