Tennessee Heritage Protection Act

The Tennessee Heritage Protection Act was enacted in 2013, and amended in 2016 and 2018.[1][2] It prohibits the removal, relocation, or renaming of a memorial that is, or is located on, public property without permission (a waiver). Permission requires a two-thirds vote of approval from the Tennessee Historical Commission,[1] 23 of whose members are appointed by the Governor and the remainder ex-officio. The purpose of the Act is to prevent the removal of Confederate memorials from public places in Tennessee.[2][3][4][5] As put by the New York Times, the Act shows "an express intent to prevent municipalities in Tennessee from taking down Confederate memorials."[6]

In 2018, because of Memphis's transfer of ownership of statues of Robert E. Lee and Nathan Bedford Forrest as a means of removing them (see Memphis Greenspace), an amendment to the Act prohibits municipalities from selling or transferring ownership of memorials without permission. The amendment also "allows any entity, group or individual with an interest in a memorial to seek an injunction to preserve the memorial in question."[7]

As of August, 2018, the Tennessee Historical Commission has never permitted a monument's removal, and has heard only two cases, one of which was Memphis's application to remove the two statues.

Although there have been allegations that members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans are on the Commission, only one of the 29-person board is known to belong to that organization.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Tennessee Heritage Protection Act". www.tn.gov. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  2. 1 2 Ebert, Joel (February 18, 2016). "Tenn. House votes for heritage protection law". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  3. ↑ Meyer, Holly (August 17, 2017). "Why removing Confederate monuments in Tennessee is not an easy process". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  4. ↑ Connolly, Daniel; Wang, Vivian (2017-12-20). "Confederate Statues in Memphis Are Removed After City Council Vote". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  5. ↑ Barbash, Fred (2017-12-21). "Memphis to Jefferson Davis: 'Na na na na, hey, hey, goodbye'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
  6. ↑ Renkl, Margaret (January 29, 2018). "A Monument the Old South Would Like to Ignore". New York Times.
  7. 1 2 Lohr, David (May 31, 2018). "This Is Why Another Confederate Statue Won't Come Down In Tennessee". Huffington Post.

See also


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