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Mississippi Governor: Denounce Attempts to Honor KKK Founder
  1. Signatures
    8,610 out of 10,000
    Petitioning
    1. The Governor of MS (+ 26 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • The Governor of MS
      • Deputy Press Secretary, Governor Barbour (Laura Hipp)
      • Senior Advisor, Governor Barbour (Nicole Stofer)
      • Counsel, Governor Barbour (Amanda Jones)
      • Chief Counsel, Governor Barbour (Colby Lane)
      • Policy Advisor, Governor Barbour (Candice Whitfield)
      • Policy Analyst, Governor Barbour (Taylor Teepell)
      • Policy Aide, Governor Barbour (Elizabeth Joseph)
      • Press Secretary, Governor Barbour (Dan Turner)
      • Executive Assistant, Governor Barbour (Ginny Roberts Zirulnik)
      • Legislative Affairs, Governor Barbour (Andrew Ketchings)
      • Policy Aide, Governor Barbour (Hunter Carpenter)
      • Constituent Services and Special Projects, Governor Barbour (Charles Pittman)
      • Policy Advisor, Governor Barbour (Rebekah Staples)
      • Chief of Staff, Governor Barbour (Paul Hurst)
      • Executive Assistant, Governor Barbour (Mary Buchanan)
      • Policy Advisor, Governor Barbour (Patrick Sullivan)
      • Constituent Services, Governor Barbour (Max Wells)
      • Special Projects Coordinator, Governor Barbour (Debbie Carney)
      • Deputy Director of Driver's Services, Mississippi Commissioner of Public Safety (Capt. P.G. Parker)
      • Driver's Services, Mississippi Commissioner of Public Safety (Lt. Anthony Wright)
      • Driver's Services, Mississippi Commissioner of Public Safety (Lt. John Hillhouse)
      • Driver's Services, Mississippi Commissioner of Public Safety (Lt. Janita West)
      • Mississippi Commissioner of Public Safety (Santa Cruz)
      • Communications, Mississippi Commissioner of Public Safety (Charley Cook)
      • Communications Director, Mississippi Commissioner of Public Safety (Jon Kalahar)
      • Director of Driver's Services, Mississippi Commissioner of Public Safety (Major Jason Jennings)
  2. Created By
    Carl Chancellor
    Akron, OH
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates
How We Won

Feb 22, 2011

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour had refused to denounce a proposal to honor Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, a co-founder of the Ku Klux Klan infamous for leading his rebels in a massacre of black Union soldiers, with an official Mississippi license plate.

But after extensive media coverage and letters from 8,500 Change.org members, the governor, who has presidential aspirations, changed his mind.

The Mississippi Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans wants to sponsor a state-issued license plate to honor Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, one of the founders of the Ku Klux Klan.

The Sons are sponsoring a series of Mississippi license plates to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and would include the Forrest vehicle tag that would be issued in 2014.

Several organizations, including the Mississippi chapter of the NAACP have asked Gov. Haley Barbour to condemn any attempt to honor Forrest with a license plate. Thus far, Barbour has declined to denounce the effort.

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Gov. Barbour, Denounce Attempts to Honor KKK Founder

Greetings Gov. Barbour

I urge you to denounce the attempt to honor Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest with a Mississippi license plate.

Given Forrest's highly controversial history, including the fact that he was a grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, it is unconscionable that Mississippi would give him official recognition.

While it is important to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War - a seminal event in the story of America - honoring Forrest sullies the memories and demeans the efforts of those who have sacrificed to heal the wounds that divide us as a country.

I write to encourage you to use your power as governor to make sure that Mississippi doesn't permit a license plate to honor Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.

I ask that you publicly condemn any attempt to honor Forrest with a license plate.

I look forward to your reply at the responses email below.




[Your name]

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