Two very different signs are now within sight of the bridge
where President Obama will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Bloody
Sunday march.
A billboard set up by a group dedicated to honor the Ku Klux
Klan founder Nathan Bedford Forrest invites visitors to see “Selma’s War Between
The States Historic Sites.” The sign also features a picture of the Confederate
flag and an image of Forrest, who was also a Confederate general, The Daily
News reports.
Beside Forrest’s picture is a quote which was adopted by his
men: “Keep the skeer on ‘em.”
The sign on the opposite side reads, “SelmaPostHerald.com
Welcomes President Barack Obama and you to Selma.”
Several Selma residents and visitors in town to celebrate the events that inspired the signing of the Voting Rights Act were upset over the billboard.
“It should be taken down,” said Flossie Menifee, 67, a
resident of Selma. “The Ku Klux Klan, the hatred, the prejudice, I think it’s
always going to be in Selma.”
Kirsten Muller was “shocked” after seeing the billboard.
“It feels threatening because we think of Forrest as the
founder of the KKK and that reminds us of the violence,” said Muller, 59,
co-founder of international human rights organization Global Exchange.
The Daily News reports:
The head of the group behind the controversial billboard
scoffed at the suggestion that some might find it offensive.
“That billboard was put there with positive intent to ask
people who come to Selma to explore and enjoy our 19th century history,” said
Patricia Goodwin, head of the group Friends of Forrest Inc.
“Does it say anything in the Constitution where a certain
faction of people cannot be offended?” she added. “I’m offended by all these
people walking around with their pants hanging around their knees.”..
Goodwin said she chose the location because it was highly
visible to visitors. She insisted that it has nothing to do with the KKK or
Forrest’s role in its founding. Culled
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