The Tennessee Heritage Protection Act (THPA) was enacted in 2013, amended in 2016, 2018, and 2023. It prohibits the removal, relocation, or renaming of a memorial that is, or is located on, public property without permission (a waiver). Changes enacted in 2023 require a two-thirds vote of approval from the nine member Tennessee Monuments and Memorials Commission. Until June, 2023 cases were heard by the board of the

Tennessee Historical Commission The Tennessee Historical Commission (THC) is the State Historic Preservation Office for the U.S. state of Tennessee. Headquartered in Nashville, it is an independent state agency, administratively attached to the Department of Environment and C ...

, 24 of whose members are appointed by the Governor and the remainder

ex-officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ''List of Latin phrases (E)#ex officio, ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the off ...

. The purpose of the Act is to prevent the removal of Confederate memorials from public places in Tennessee. As put by the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', the Act shows "an express intent to prevent municipalities in Tennessee from taking down Confederate memorials." In 2018, because of

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

's transfer of ownership of statues of

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

and

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was an List of slave traders of the United States, American slave trader, active in the lower Mississippi River valley, who served as a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Con ...

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." In 2021 the Tennessee Historical Commission board permitted the removal and relocation of the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest and two others from the State Capitol to the Tennessee State Museum. In a prior case the Commission approved relocating several World War II monuments in Chattanooga, and it has approved the sale of several acres of the historic Sam Davis Home in Smyrna for commercial development. Davis was known as the “Boy Hero of the Confederacy.” The Commission has heard other cases, one of which was Memphis's application to remove the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue. In 2018 The Tennessee Historical Commission acknowledged that one member (Judge David Tipton) also belonged to the

Sons of Confederate Veterans The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an American neo-Confederate nonprofit organization of male descendants of Confederate soldiers that commemorates these ancestors, funds and dedicates monuments to them, and promotes the pseudohisto ...

. The Memphis Mayor's office has said that as of 2016 there were several people who belonged to both organizations.

References

See also