Though the bloodiest war on American soil was fought 150 years
ago, racially tinged discord flared before its City Council
voted this week to strip Forrest's name from the downtown park
and call it Health Sciences Park. It also voted to rename
Confederate Park as Memphis Park and Jefferson Davis Park as
Mississippi River Park. A committee has been formed to help the
council decide on permanent names for the parks. The changes
have drawn praise from those who said bygone reminders of the
Confederacy had to be swept away in what today is a racially
diverse city. Critics cried foul, saying moves to blot out such
associations were tantamount to rewriting the history of a
Mississippi River city steeped in Old South heritage. The
struggle over Forrest's legacy and moves to rename other parks
highlights a broader national debate over what Confederate
figures represent in the 21st century as a far more diverse
nation takes new stock of the war on its 150th anniversary with
the hindsight of the civil rights era. Altho