Letters
The following letter was written by John Field Pankow in response to an
editorial which appeared in The Memphis Flyer.
Editor, Memphis Flyer
Sir,
In view of the recent editorial "The Manners of History" which appeared in
your newspaper criticizing the erection of a monument to Confederate General
Nathan Bedford Forrest in Selma, Alabama, I would like to refer you to two
quotes made by famous men:
Quote #1:
"I will say, then, that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing
about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black
races -- that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or
jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry
with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical
difference between the white and black races from living together on terms of
social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they
do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I
as much as any other man, am in favor of having the superior position assigned
to the white race."
Quote #2:
"I came here with the jeers of some white people, who think that I am
doing wrong. I believe I can exert some influence, and do much to assist the
people in strengthening fraternal relations, and shall do all in my power to
elevate every man - to depress none. (Applause.) I want to elevate you to
take positions in law offices, in stores, on farms, and wherever you are
capable of going. I have not said anything about politics today. I don't
propose to say anything about politics. You have a right to elect whom you
please; vote for the man you think best, and I think, when that is done, you
and I are freemen. Do as you consider right and honest in electing men for
office. I did not come here to make you a long speech, although invited to do
so by you. I am not much of a speaker, and my business prevented me from
preparing myself. I came to meet you as friends, and welcome you to the white
people. I want you to come nearer to us. When I can serve you I will do so. We have but one flag, one country; let us stand together. We may differ in
color, but not in sentiments. Many things have been said about me which are
wrong, and which white and black persons here, who stood by me through the
war, can contradict. Go to work, be industrious, live honestly and act truly,
and when you are oppressed I'll come to your relief."
It seems quite obvious to me that the first quote brands the speaker as a
racist, unworthy of being memorialized. Wouldn't you agree? The quote of the
second speaker indicates that he sought to "strengthen fraternal
relations"
between whites and black, to "elevate every man and depress note." He pledged
to defend his audience (composed of blacks) from oppression. His remark "we
may differ in color, but not in sentiment," shows a remarkable idea of racial
brotherhood given the time when the speech was made.
The first statement was made by Abraham Lincoln. The second was made by
Nathan Bedford Forrest. Before you rush to judgment, perhaps you should
learn some FACTS first.
Sincerely,
John Field Pankow
The next letter was also written to the
newspaper The Memphis Flyer, this time by a descendant of General Nathan B.
Forrest in response to the same scathing article "The Manners of History".
The Memphis Flyer
letters@memphisflyer.com
Editor;
I being a member of the General's wife's family, the
Montgomerys, and kin to his children and grandchildren and on down the line, take a great
offense to your article on Lt. General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest was a
rare, self made man, who rose from poverty to become one of the leading citizens of North Mississippi and West Tennessee,
even before the "War". He was a city Alderman, elected by the people of
Memphis, as well as a business owner, he was a Mississippi land owner of hard found
wealth. He worked the land himself, cut trees, pulled stumps, tilled and planted the soil, and he and his mother and brothers harvested the crops.
He worked harder than any person of African servitude to build his family's future, this was the sweat of his brow, the ache of his back the blisters on his hands, no one handed Forrest his fortune on a silver platter and as a
result he became wealthy. He invested wisely, he did trade in servants, "But he never split a family up when he sold them, he never,
knowingly sold a servant to a cruel master, and if he found out after the sale, he bought back the servants to keep them
from being mistreated." There were many slaves that came to him and asked him to buy them from their cruel masters, knowing that they would have a better future when Forrest placed them with new owners. When the "War" started, Forrest asked the 45 servants that worked for
him
to go with him, and promised that no matter how the "War" turned out they would be free men, 44 of the 45 went with him and fought for the Confederacy, as did over 100,000 other Africans in the South help fight for their
country. Forrest was true to his word and after the war the
ones that had been his servants came to work for him as free men. Forrest had been a fair master
and was a good employer.
Forrest invited a Yankee officer down to look at his Sunflower Landing plantation with the plans of making him a business partner and the man was later to say that Forrest gave the Africans the greatest compliment he has ever heard concerning the Black people, Forrest said, " No one people could ever work the land and make it produce like the people of African servitude." The Klan had already been in existence when he was voted to be the Grand Wizard, a post he did not seek or know that he was elected to until it had already been done. He was the one person that so many veterans looked up to for leadership, he helped them to regain their voting rights and become citizens again, and helped drive the scallywags and carpetbaggers out of Tennessee. Forrest was the one that ordered the Klan to disband in 1869, and it did so. It was later revised in the early 1900's but as a different organization, with different morals and objectives. The Klan of today is not the Klan of yesteryear.
I don't have the time or the space to give a full history of the life of Nathan Bedford Forrest, their are many books you can read on the subject,
and most tell the truth about him, take the time to read one, turn off the TV for a few nights and learn something, other
than who's playing with a round ball and hoop. I don't like to paraphrase the X-Files, but "The Truth Is Out There".
Cold. David Ingram
Memphis, TN