'KKK License' Bogus

[patric]

The NAACP is railing against a tasteless proposal to have KKK License tags.
Just one thing... no one proposed it. 

The Associated Press, January 25, 2011
JACKSON - The state of Mississippi will offer a different license plate each of the next five years to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Civil War.
The 2011 SCV license plate will feature Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis' last home, located in Biloxi.
Officials say there will be a Battle of Corinth design for 2012, Siege of Vicksburg design for 2013, General Nathan B. Forrest design for 2014 and Confederate veterans tribute in 2015.

Some of you history buffs might recall Gen. Forrest was recruited by the KKK (which was formed by three lawyers in Pulaski TN) as a celebrity endorsement.  He was later elected to the top, and shortly thereafter ordered the group dissolved.

But somehow, his inclusion on a series of license plates made them "KKK License Plates" and the race card was dealt.

Here's a part of the story that wasnt sensational enough to make the local news:

One image still under consideration that may surprise many people is that Holt Collier, an African American who fought for the Confederacy and eventually served under President Theodore Roosevelt.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/02/14/mississippi.kkk.controversy

Maybe the thought of a black Confederate immortalized on a car tag was more than the NAACP could bear.

[joiei]

This is the story about the liscense plates as reported by the Clarion-Ledger,  from Jackson.

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011110210013

The Mississippi Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans wants to sponsor a series of state-issued license plates to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, which it calls the "War Between the States." The group proposes a different design each year between now and 2015, with Forrest slated for 2014.

"Seriously?" state NAACP president Derrick Johnson said when he was told about the Forrest plate. "Wow."

Forrest, a Tennessee native, is revered by some as a military genius and reviled by others for leading the 1864 massacre of black Union troops at Fort Pillow, Tenn. Forrest was a Klan grand wizard in Tennessee after the war.

Sons of Confederate Veterans member Greg Stewart said he believes Forrest distanced himself from the Klan later in life. It's a point many historians agree upon, though some believe it was too little, too late, because the Klan had already turned violent before Forrest left.

"If Christian redemption means anything - and we all want redemption, I think - he redeemed himself in his own time, in his own actions, in his own words," Stewart said. "We should respect that."

State Department of Revenue spokeswoman Kathy Waterbury said legislators would have to approve a series of Civil War license plates. She said if every group that has a specialty license plate wanted a redesign every year, it would take an inordinate amount time from Department of Revenue employees who have other duties.

[Townsend]

This is the story about the liscense plates as reported by the Clarion-Ledger,  from Jackson.

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011110210013

"Seriously?" state NAACP president Derrick Johnson said when he was told about the Forrest plate. "Wow."

Something tells me that was an edited down quote.

[Conan71]

Some of you history buffs might recall Gen. Forrest was recruited by the KKK (which was formed by three lawyers in Pulaski TN) as a celebrity endorsement.  He was later elected to the top, and shortly thereafter ordered the group dissolved.

Sure, he was also Forrest Gump's namesake.

I'm offended the NAACP is offended, BTW.