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Star Tribune

Some white Mississippians want to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War with commemorative license plates. The Sons of Confederate Veterans want the plates to honor Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, who was also a notorious Ku Klux Klan leader.

Mississippi’s NAACP is urging Gov. Haley Barbour to denounce the effort. Barbour, a possible 2012 Republican presidential candidate, took  several days  to ponder whether it’s a bad thing to honor a white supremacist thug who led violence against blacks.

Today, he finally broke his silence on the matter, saying he wouldn't denounce the effort.

Meanwhile, a Facebook group has sprung up in support of the protest: Mississippians Against the Commemoration of [KKK] Grand Wizard Nathan Forrest. “…we will not stand for the public glorification of one of the original leaders of the Ku Klux Klan,” the site says.

Susan Hogan is a Star Tribune editorial writer.