Change the name of Nathan B. Forrest High School

Signatures 336 total

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1. 151
   Name: Diana Townsend on Jan 4, 2007

   Comments: Jacksonville's reputation as a "racist" community will be greatly advanced if "Nathan B. Forrest" continues to be used as the name of one of our high schools. I sincerely hope that the SAC realizes this potentially adverse effect and decides to change its name.

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2. 152
   Name: Anonymous on Jan 4, 2007

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3. 153
   Name: Krista Hoffman on Jan 4, 2007

   Comments: Please consider the ramifications of similar situations in the future if you do not set a standard of admiting past poor decisions and making adjustments for the future.

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4. 154
   Name: Vicki Wengrow on Jan 4, 2007

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5. 155
   Name: Malaika Edden on Jan 4, 2007

   Comments: As a person who has travelled through the south and visited civil rights monument after civil rights monument it saddens me to think there are young people going to a school named after this man. It's time to make a change and rename your school!

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6. 156
   Name: Laura Fleisher on Jan 4, 2007

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7. 157
   Name: Kellen Kaiser on Jan 4, 2007

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8. 158
   Name: Delphine Veith on Jan 4, 2007

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9. 159
   Name: Stephanie Hazen on Jan 4, 2007

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10. 160
    Name: Anonymous on Jan 4, 2007

    Comments: Please change the name of the school to something more appropriate. I don't believe your county nor your city wants such a prominent monument to hatred and bigotry. What is that saying to your students, especially African-American students

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11. 161
    Name: Anonymous on Jan 4, 2007

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12. 162
    Name: Anonymous on Jan 4, 2007

    Comments: no more racism!

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13. 163
    Name: M Sarikhan on Jan 4, 2007

    Comments: It is horrific to find this name has not been changed sooner.

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14. 164
    Name: Will Letts on Jan 4, 2007

    Comments: The name MUST change for social justice to prevail!

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15. 165
    Name: John O'Malley on Jan 4, 2007

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16. 166
    Name: Timara Freeman-Young on Jan 4, 2007

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17. 167
    Name: Anonymous on Jan 4, 2007

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18. 168
    Name: Joni Cour on Jan 4, 2007

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19. 169
    Name: Jesse Forshey on Jan 4, 2007

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20. 170
    Name: Linda Baker on Jan 4, 2007

    Comments: please change the name. It is important to show our young people that we will not stand for or honor hatred and racism.

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21. 171
    Name: Tom Baker on Jan 4, 2007

    Comments: It is important to move forward in insuring equal rights for all.

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22. 172
    Name: Pure Bogus on Jan 4, 2007

    Comments: This petition is nothing but BS. Go do some real research on Forrest and not just what the NAACP tells you.

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23. 173
    Name: Foresst Gump on Jan 4, 2007

    Comments: Forrest's ties to KKK a trumped-up myth I've grown to become amused at things that are based on bad history, especially when they are written with such obvious political intent. The misinformation , began with the statement referring to "Civil War general and Ku Klux Klan founder Nathan Bedford Forrest." Certainly Forrest was a general in the Confederate Army, and according to his old nemesis, Union Gen. William T. Sherman, possibly the best cavalry officer produced by the Civil War. His prowess as a cavalry leader and battlefield general earned him the envy of even his adversaries and the title, "Wizard of the Saddle," early on in the war. But there the truth ends and Hollywood legend begins. Bedford Forrest had absolutely nothing to do with the founding of the Ku Klux Klan. And even within the history of the Klan, differences must be noted between the Klan of the 1860s and the Klan of today. The KKK that was reorganized in 1915 enjoyed a well-deserved reputation as a bigoted and sometimes violent organization, fueled by hate and ignorance and thriving on fear and intimidation. But that wasn't always the case. The original KKK of the 1860s was organized as a fun club, or social club, for Confederate veterans. Many historians agree that if a YMCA had been available in the town of Pulaski, Tenn., the KKK might never have existed. On Dec. 24, 1865, six young Confederate veterans met in the law office of Judge Thomas M. Jones, near the courthouse square in Pulaski. Their names were James R. Crowe, Calvin E. Jones, John B. Kennedy, John C. Lester, Frank O. McCord, and Richard B. Reed. All had been CSA officers and were lawyers, except Kennedy and McCord, who had served as a private in the Confederate army. The meeting resulted in the idea of forming a social club, an 1860s version of the VFW or American Legion. Their number quickly grew, and in meetings that followed, the men selected a name based on the Greek word "kuklos" meaning circle, from which they derived the name Ku Klux. Perhaps bowing to their Scotch-Irish ancestry, and to add alliteration to the name, they included "clan," spelled with a K. And so, quite innocently, a new social club called the Ku Klux Klan was created to provide recreation for Confederate veterans. McCord, whose family owned the town's weekly newspaper, the Pulaski Citizen, printed mysterious-sounding notices of meetings and club activities. As other newspapers picked up his stories about the Klan, word spread and the organization grew. When the war ended, Forrest was virtually broke, having spent most of his estimated pre-war fortune of $1.5 million outfitting his troops. He was spending his time between business ventures in Memphis and his farm in Mississippi. Organizations such as the Klan were farthest from his mind. When Forrest was elected Grand Wizard of the Klan in mid-1867 at the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, he wasn't even in town. He was elected in absentia. The best scholarly research shows that Forrest never "led the Klan," he never "rode with" the Klan, nor did he ever own any Klan paraphernalia. The only known order that Forrest issued using his famous name and perceived authority was for the KKK to disband in 1869, which it finally did in 1871. And even that order was written by his longtime friend and former chief artillery officer, Capt. John Watson Morton. As to the battle of Fort Pillow, few men within the fort needed to have died on that fateful day. From Jack Hurst's Nathan Bedford Forrest, A Biography: "Captain W. A. Goodman, Chalmers' adjutant general and bearer of the (surrender) note, said later he clearly remembered the offer to treat the entire garrison as prisoners of war 'because when the note was handed to me, there was discussion about it among the officers present, and it was asked whether it was intended to include Negro soldiers as well as the white; to which both General Forrest and General Chalmers (one of Forrest's brigade commanders) replied that it was so intended.'" A U.S. Congressional investigation exonerated Forrest of any wrongdoing at Fort Pillow, although the incident became the stuff of northern newspaper propaganda. Sherman later noted that the disproportionate casualties at the fort were the result of incompetent Union command. Forrest's involvement with the Klan was far less than Michael Jordan's was with Nike athletic shoes. It might be wise before anyone drags portions of the history of this country through the mud in a political fray that they bother to sit down and study that history more carefully.

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24. 174
    Name: Jennifer Jo Stevens on Jan 4, 2007

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25. 175
    Name: Shauna Rumsey on Jan 4, 2007

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26. 176
    Name: Anonymous on Jan 4, 2007

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27. 177
    Name: Megan Strout on Jan 4, 2007

    Comments: When is it going to end, if it doesn't stop here

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28. 178
    Name: Anonymous on Jan 4, 2007

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29. 179
    Name: Anonymous on Jan 4, 2007

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30. 180
    Name: Anonymous on Jan 4, 2007

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31. 181
    Name: Anonymous on Jan 4, 2007

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32. 182
    Name: Natania Dumont on Jan 4, 2007

    Comments: Please change the name of this school. It's name is a disgrace!

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33. 183
    Name: Heather Healy on Jan 4, 2007

    Comments: you rock

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34. 184
    Name: Anonymous on Jan 4, 2007

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35. 185
    Name: Karen J Wesler on Jan 4, 2007

    Comments: It's time to do right by all the citizens of this country, and change the name of this school as this man is not someone who deserves the honor.

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36. 186
    Name: Robert G. Shepard, Jr on Jan 4, 2007

    Comments: I am horrified that this name is on a school. As a Florida Reside I implore the good citizens on the Forrest High School Advisory Council(SAC) and the Duval County School Board to remove the name Nathan B. Forrest from the public high school.

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37. 187
    Name: Robert G. Shepard, Jr on Jan 4, 2007

    Comments: I am horrified that this name is on a school. As a Florida Reside I implore the good citizens on the Forrest High School Advisory Council(SAC) and the Duval County School Board to remove the name Nathan B. Forrest from the public high school.

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38. 188
    Name: Marsha Berdit on Jan 4, 2007

    Comments: Pkease add my bame to those who want to remove Forrest's name from the school. No school should honor racism by naming the school afterb a founder of the KKK.

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39. 189
    Name: Elizabeth Jordan on Jan 4, 2007

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40. 190
    Name: Corrigan Gommenginger on Jan 4, 2007

    Comments: Stop the hatred!

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41. 191
    Name: Mekah Gordon, Ph.D., L. E. on Jan 5, 2007

    Comments: I firmly believe, that it's about time to cut down this "Forrest," so we can plant seeds of Sensitivity, Understanding, Respect, & Equality. The mere fact, that this Bigot, and Hater, was "honored" in the first place, by having his name on an institution of learning, is beyond comprehension, and shameful! We must move forward, and perpetually strive for Basic Human Civil Rights for everyone, not just a select few. Sincerely ~ ~Mekah Gordon, Ph.D., L. E. Advocate/Activist - Consummate Optimist & Visionary - Educator/Consultant - Freelance Writer-TG Issues - Regional Editor of Santa Fe/For The Normal Heart Newspaper - Pioneering, Frontier Renaissance Woman Founder/Director ~ S. U. R. E. Foundation

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42. 192
    Name: Kevin Riley on Jan 5, 2007

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43. 193
    Name: Jessica Grady on Jan 5, 2007

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44. 194
    Name: Doug Fast on Jan 5, 2007

    Comments: Is this how we want people to see Jacksonville

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45. 195
    Name: Gail Selvig on Jan 5, 2007

    Comments: As a former high school history teacher, I strongly support changing the name of Forrest High School.

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46. 196
    Name: Steve Orner on Jan 5, 2007

    Comments: This seems to be a no-brainer! Amazing nobody has brought this up before. Change the name of the H.S. imediately Perhaps a black Civil Rights leader Bayard Rustin would be my suggestion. Mr. Rustin absolutely deserves the honor. That should get Nathan B. Forrest rolling in his grave!

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47. 197
    Name: Elisha Vogelsang on Jan 5, 2007

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48. 198
    Name: Keshia Green on Jan 5, 2007

    Comments: Nathan B. Forrest Should no longer exist as the name of this public high school.

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49. 199
    Name: Anonymous on Jan 5, 2007

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50. 200
    Name: Anonymous on Jan 5, 2007

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