Maryland: "It's the right thing to do"- Governor Hogan

Maryland Politics

Governor Hogan calls for removing the statue of Roger B. Taney, saying it’s the ‘right thing to do’

MaineWriter- a Baltimore native (No, seriously!)

Of all the Confederate statuary targeted for possible removal, I absolutely congratulation Maryland Governor Hogan for picking the removal for one particular one, it's very long overdue.

Governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan

ANNAPOLIS — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced Tuesday that he wants to remove from the State House grounds a statue of Roger B. Taney, a U.S. Supreme Court justice and slavery defender who penned in the infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision that black people cannot be U.S. citizens.

“While we cannot hide from our history — nor should we — the time has come to make clear the difference between properly acknowledging our past and glorifying the darkest chapters of our history,” Hogan said in a statement. “I believe removing the Justice Roger B. Taney statue from the State House grounds is the right thing to do.”

Personally, this is a hideous eyesore. I'm glad it's gone, hopefully forever.
There may be a reason for someone to create a Confederacy museum. If so, this man's statue  could be positioned near the bathrooms.

The decision, which comes after the deadly rally of white nationalists in Charlottesville over the weekend, is a reversal for Hogan. Last year, the governor said he had “no interest” in removing Taney’s statue, and he described calls for the removal of statues and other Confederate monuments as “political correctness run amok.”

Hogan said Tuesday that he will ask the State House Trust to take immediate action to remove the statue.

The governor chairs the four-member State House Trust board, which controls the grounds of the capitol complex. House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel), Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) and Maryland Historical Trust Chair Charles L. Edson make up the rest of the board.

On Monday, Busch said in a Facebook post that “the time has come for Taney to come down.” Miller and Edson have indicated that if Hogan wants to remove the statue, they will agree.

Communities across the region and country are debating whether to remove from other public spaces the names and statues of historical figures who represent a legacy of slavery and racism.

On Monday, Baltimore Mayor Catherine E. Pugh (D) announced plans to remove four Confederate statues in that city. And, in the District on Tuesday, D.C. Council member David Grosso (I-At Large) sent a letter to the National Park Service asking that it “do everything in its power to permanently remove the Albert Pike Statue,” which is located in Judiciary Square. Pike, was a lawyer and a poet who was active in the Masonic movement. He was a Confederate brigadier general.

Amelia Chasse, a spokeswoman for Hogan, said that the governor was “disgusted” by what happened in Charlottesville and that “he rightly concluded that these memorials have become a rallying point for white supremacists and bigots and he believes that their presence on prominent public land was sending a confusing and ultimately inappropriate message.”

MaineWriter: Thank you Governor Larry Hogan! Indeed, Maryland has seen enough racial riots. Our beautiful state cannot abide the negative impact of its racial history or provide fodder for bigotry.