With Juneteenth approaching, some local groups are ramping up efforts to remove a Confederate statue in Talbot County, Maryland.
The Move the Monument Coalition and the Talbot County NAACP have been trying for years to get the Talbot Boys monument moved from the lawn of the Talbot County Courthouse in Easton.
In a video town hall Monday Night, Richard Potter, president of the Talbot County NAACP, said it is time to “tear down the barriers to real justice and equality.”
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland also joined the town hall. He supports the removal of the monument, which sits on public property in front of the courthouse, calling its placement “galling.”
“It’s time to remove this monument in front of the courthouse,” Van Hollen said, “a monument that does not celebrate justice for all but one that glorifies the Confederacy and those who fought to protect slavery.”
The statue depicts a soldier holding a Confederate flag. It was dedicated to the county’s citizens who fought the Union in the Civil War, called the “Talbot Boys.”
Talbot County council members rejected a proposal to remove the monument in a 3-2 vote last August. The ACLU of Maryland and the NAACP of Maryland sued the county in May for retaining the statue in front of the courthouse.
A rally in Talbot County supporting the removal is set for Saturday on Juneteenth, the day that commemorates the emancipation of slaves in the U.S.
