...he's an idiot.

I wouldn't cite him as a civil rights leader, but it does appear he was more complicated than those who simply want to brand him with the KKK badge.

From his NYT obituary:

Of late years, his views had undergone a considerable change. The guerrilla chieftain had softened down into the retired veteran, anxious, apparently, only for peace with everybody. He was in favor of promoting good feeling between the two sections, and by the terms of his address to his old comrades in arms, asking them to join in decorating the graves of the dead Union soldiers. His last notable public appearance was on the Fourth of July in Memphis, when he appeared before the colored people at their celebration, was publicly presented with a bouquet by them as a mark of peace and reconciliation, and made a friendly speech in reply. In this he once more took occasion to defend himself and his war record, and to declare that he was a hearty friend of the colored race.

"...In fact, recognizing his will to exercise “moral authority”, the United States Congress recognized General Forrest’s efforts to dismantle the Klan in 1871."

And coincidentally, 1871 was the year that the U.S. Congress passed the Enforcement Act of 1871 (also known as the Klu Klux Klan Act).