NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The chairwoman of the Tennessee Democratic Party wants to begin a discussion about whether to keep naming an annual fundraiser after President Andrew Jackson.
Mary Mancini said in an email Tuesday that while the party has long celebrated Jackson's legacy as a general and the country's seventh president, it shouldn't ignore his participation in slavery and the forced removal of native Americans.
Mancini said she has been receiving questions about the role of Jackson in party events amid a national debate over Jackson's likeness on the $20 bill and the decision by Democrats in Connecticut and Georgia to rename their Jackson-Jefferson Day events.
Mancini did not indicate her preference on the issue but called for every voice to be heard within what she called the Democrats' "big, colorful tent."