Rev. Al Sharpton is planning to lead a rally in Memphis Saturday which is supposed to encourage city leaders to support the renaming of two parks in the city. The two parks are named after Confederacy President Jefferson Davis and Nathan Bedford Forrest, one of the founders of the Ku Klux Klan.

Saturday, a rally will be held not far from the parks to push city officials to move the names of men associated with racist acts of the past. Rev. Al Sharpton will headline the rally in hopes of getting more people on board, Judge DÂ’Army Bailey, a Shelby County Circuit Court judge, told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

“There have been thousands of blacks who’ve signed petitions asking (City Council) to rename the park. Rev. Sharpton looked at this as a battle in Memphis,” Bailey said. “He believes it’s a very significant national battle and one that needs to be won.”

“People ask the question, ‘What’s in a name?'” Bailey said. “But I ask them, why do they ban Nazi symbols and not have any recognition of Adolph Hitler in Germany? Why did the United States forces pull down the statue of Saddam Hussein as their first act against tyranny?

“Names and symbols represent either an allegiance to or disavowal of something,” Bailey added. “It’s well past the time to remove allegiance to those whose prime intention was to erase a whole race of people.”

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