You died in 1863.
Hell didn’t have a direct number so I figured I’d reach out to your spirit.
I hope this is a good time.
I don’t know where you are specifically, but I hope that somehow, you are listening to these words through the flames of your hot eternity.
I have been talking to your decedents, trying to come to a common ground but it hasn’t worked so… now I am coming straight to you.
And I know you do not know me, but my ancestors surely do know you.
So I am here on behalf of them.
Allow me to introduce myself… I am Jeneisha.
I wish that I could say it is a pleasure to meet you, but… it is not.
I was arrested because of you.
Protesting, because of you.
And your descendants think that I am the bad one, here.
You killed my ancestors but history books paint you to be this… hero.
I am confused.
A Confederate general during the Civil War, from 1861–1865, your command was responsible for the unnecessary massacre of Black Union troops stationed at Fort Pillow in April 1864.
I place a strong emphasis on unnecessary because of the fact that the black troops had already surrendered before they were killed.
You later became the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
I wrote an article about you in the Tennessean and many people tried to challenge it by saying “you died a changed man” after your disassociation with the group in 1874, but Nathan…
What good is alleged changed behavior if the damage is already done?
You see, this is more than just your statue.
Black people in this country are too often told to “get over” horrendous acts that we have faced like slavery, Jim Crow and oppression of all forms.
But how can we get over it if we are reminded of it every single day through your statues, your parks and your non deserving accolades.
Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust are historically intertwined because of his egregious acts against Jews.
Nathan, you, and the oppression of black people are also historically correlated because of your equally horrific acts to us.
There are not statues of Hitler in Holocaust Museums that glorify him.
So why should there be statues of you, all throughout Tennessee?
Nathan, calm down…
You seem shocked.
Don’t be.
You seem angry, too.
Are you having flashbacks?
You know… the ones that you have after you’ve done something terrible.
I know all about you and your history.
I have studied you for some time now and I know everything about you and the life you lived.
You had blood on your hands but now you have blood on your spirit so I know that hell must stink.
If you truly died a changed man,
fulfill my demands as a long lost apology.
1. Talk to your decensants
Allow your evil spirit, for once, to do something good and send them a sign or some type of revelation.
I have never been to hell and I do not know the logistics of the after life, so I don’t know if that is possible… but try.
Governor Bill Lee, and the Capitol Commission.
It is time for this to be handled.
2. Tell them to take, you down.
Let them know that it is not erasing you.
But more so placing you in the correct spots.
In history books not parks.
In museums not State Capitols.
And speaking of Capitols, I am still banned so if you could…
No?
Lol, Okay, too far.
But seriously.
Last but not least
3. Put an end to your holiday
The governor of Tennessee is required by state law to issue an annual proclamation to honor you in the name of Southern History and Ethical Awareness.
But we do not have to honor you on July 13th of any other day.
Ida B. Wells did more good that you could ever do.
So what about people like her?
Where are the statues for them?
Or do we only celebrate racism disguised as piss poor service in this state?
I am not done with this or you, Nathan.
I will be at war with your spirit until this mission is complete.
There is one thing that I want to know…
How does it feel to listen to the voice of your victims’ descendant?
Do you have any regrets?
Does it make hell feel a little more, hot?
Or do you smile in the heat because your soul is still unbothered?
You are talking to the descendant of the people you murdered and I still do not think you know the extremity of what you did.
You murdered innocent people, Nathan.
You were apart of an organization that kills black people to this very day.
I have so much trauma from your actions and I wasn’t even there, so imagine how my ancestors felt.
People like you do not deserve praise, or statues or accolades.
People like you deserve consequences.
We need to remember you but not in the way that we have been.
I know that you, Hitler, Mussolini and the rest of your crew are having a blast down there together.
But hell is not enough for me.
And it never will be.
I will not rest until all of you, is removed from all of Tennessee.