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Harper's Bazaar

Taylor Swift Asks Tennessee to Take Down Its Racist Statues

Amy Mackelden
2 min read
Photo credit: Jamie McCarthy - Getty Images
Photo credit: Jamie McCarthy - Getty Images

From Harper's BAZAAR

  • Taylor Swift is asking the Capitol Commission and the Tennessee Historical Commission to remove racist statues in the state.

  • Swift wrote on social media, "When you fight to honor racists, you show Black Tennesseans and all of their allies where you stand."

  • Swift previously spoke out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.


Taylor Swift is continuing to make her political stance clear on social media.

On Friday, the musician took to Instagram to post a series of messages regarding racist statues in Tennessee. She explained, "I’m asking the Capitol Commission and the Tennessee Historical Commission to please consider the implications of how hurtful it would be to continue fighting for these monuments. When you fight to honor racists, you show Black Tennesseans and all of their allies where you stand, and you continue this cycle of hurt. You can’t change history, but you can change this. ??."

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Along with her passionate caption, Swift went into more detail about her petition for change. Regarding Edward Carmack's statue, the singer explained that it does not deserve to be replaced as "he was a white supremacist newspaper editor who published pro-lynching editorials and incited the arson of the office of Ida B. Wells." The actress wrote, "Replacing his statue is a waste of state funds and a waste of an opportunity to do the right thing."

Swift also addressed the Nathan Bedford Forrest Equestrian Statue. She wrote, "Nathan Bedford Forrest was a brutal slave trader and the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan who, during the Civil War, massacred dozens of Black Union soldiers in Memphis. His statue is still standing and July 13th is ‘Nathan Bedford Forrest Day.’ Due to social pressure, the state is trying to overrule this, and Tennesseans might no longer have to stomach it. Fingers crossed."

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