Like everyone else, I suppose, I’ve been reading all the pros and cons for removing the Talbot Boys Statue. In the interest of objectivity, I’m not a Talbot County native, we moved to this beautiful area 12 years ago upon retirement. As many of our friends, we did not even know about the statue, or its location, until a couple of years ago. To say it was a “non-issue” absent the current National chaos would be a gross understatement.
At 79 years of age, I’ve traveled through much of the USA and some of the European world. There are statues and monuments all over the place. As I see them, they are recognition pieces to individuals or events of the era depicted. They say nothing about contemporary, 21st century life, and for the most part, I’m glad of it. But I recognize that in some far off time, in a society none of us today can relate to, someone paid to recognize those people/events depicted. So be it. To me, they are little more than headstones in a cemetery placed to honor loved ones by the family. For those of us living in the 21st century to put words in the mouths of people who died one hundred years ago or more, is not only ludicrous, it’s an inappropriate use of something long gone to propagate a position one favors today. That’s wrong, plain and simple.
As I see it, in the Talbot Boys Statue case, we have two groups trying to use the presence of an old statue to beat the drums of a current situation. One, led by the far left, BLM, progressive coalition/mentality say this statue stands for slavery, racism and injustice to the black population—hence it must go. We have seen a small group of far left clergy supporting the movement, some individuals promoting coalition/groups, demonstrations on justice issues, protests against police brutality, all somehow tied to or implied emanating from the Talbot Boys Statue. Hence, the evil thing must go.
On the other side, we have a largely subdued (so far) conservative coalition of Talbot County citizens, white people mainly, who point to the statue’s historical heritage. It was paid for by private funds, as I understand it, and erected over 100 years ago. I have not delved into why it was placed on County land. I do know some people whose ancestors are named on the monument. From those I have talked to, they see it as a historic monument only, far from any 21st century “mission statement” to anyone. They resent being intimidated by the first group or labeled as racists, and many I know are solid Christian citizens and benefactors of our County and the Town of Easton.
To me, legitimate, peaceful protests over injustice of any type in the USA is not only justified but appropriate under our Constitution. Destruction of our Country and anarchy are not. If removal of the Talbot Boys Statue is deemed part of that protest by those proposing to do so, then I believe honest and truthful questions must be asked about what the protests are about. Is it the horrific killing of George Floyd? If so, why were protests not mounted on the equally horrific killing of Mr. Cassidy, a white man, at the Easton YMCA by a black man with a long criminal record? Do issues of “moral responsibility and behavior” and “ethical Christian living” have any part in the protests? What about the Antifa agenda to destroy the USA and create a socialist state? Is that part of why the Talbot Boys Statue must go in the protesters views? I do not have the answers to those questions but I do believe an honest and truthful effort to find them weighs on whether or not the Talbot Boys Statue is a “Real Issue.”
In fact, many prominent black leaders concerned about inequality and justice have raised similar questions. I would refer all to Mr. Robert Woodson, a renown and recognized Civil Rights leader and the Rev. James David Manning (www.atlah.org). Or, the horrific black on black murder rates devastating some cities, like Chicago last weekend, where a beautiful 3 yr. old black boy was shot to death. As a wise black man in that community said—“where are the 40-50,000 protestors seeking justice for that little boy?” (Maybe they don’t have a statue). In addition, Ian Duncan’s (Baltimore Sun) analysis “Race—The Real Truth” is an enlightening read as a primer for an honest and truthful analysis of the current situation which one might suspect has some part in pushing for removal of the Talbot Boys Statue.
For me, whether the Statue goes or stays doesn’t matter much. Its presence or lack thereof solves nothing. Either way, I don’t think it is an issue for the County Council to decide; the people of Talbot County should decide by their votes. Our little County is a Democratic Republic—the government answers to us, not vice versa. I give Councilman Divilio some credit for his rendering of a new, joint Union/Confederate Statue if the people vote for it, although he needs to acknowledge Rich Merrill as the author/originator of the proposal.
But the most important takeaway to me from all of this is, ‘yes, there is a better way.’ Councilwoman Price has demonstrated it time and again. As she stated; “Decisions must not be made on the emotion of the day—We must take the time to listen to everyone and gather all the facts.” No wonder she garnered the most votes in the last Council election. There are many ways all of us in this beautiful County can address any issue—but grandstanding and shooting from the hip are not among them. Some say “silence is violence;” I say “silence is Christian compassion in action” without looking for a photo op. Thousands perform it daily. Civility, honesty and respect for each other, regardless of race, religion or ethnic background, is where it begins and ends, and no statue anywhere, from anytime, has anything to do with that,
Paul D. Denton
Easton
Jay Corvan , Architect says
Thanks for a nicely worded neutral argument about the Talbot Boys statue. Yes, I think statutes commemorate important events and can’t be seen as an overall zeitgeist of the times.
I think the main problem with Talbot Boys is that the stature did not represent the reality of the times when it was placed on the courthouse lawn. The prior judgement of the commissioners to allow it such an important place was quite flawed. Clearly allowing it to glorify one side of a torn nation trying to heal itself could not begin without acknowledging the Union side of fallen soldiers was not represented .
As a you aptly point out a democracy values all sides of an argument. Commissioner Laura Price should be congratulated on her very honorable approach to the now tiresome argument. The Chestertown Civil war commemorative monument is much more powerful with all fallen men from both sides honored.
Rather than removing the statue , why don’t we place it in proper context. Maybe its time to find a new place for Talbot Boys , in a newly dedicated park and commission a new statue that tells the other sides’ union story. Place a fountain pool between the two statues ( Talbot boys, and the new union statue ) representing a long standing conflict between the politicization of race. And it could be more about finding a lasting tranquility and peace , and a way to set war aside as pure folly , and regard war glorification as an insincere act. People on different sides of the American civil war in the same town ( trappe) died fighting each other in Gettysburg. Nothing about the act of war should be glorified. The act of war should always be questioned. This could be a better way to settle the disputes, Place it in historically accurate context.
Cornelia heckenbach says
So you travelled all over Europe and you see monuments to honor various people that is correct . I can only assume that you were not able to understand the various languages on those
monuments to make such a statement .
I am from Europe I grew up over there and travelled pretty much all over and even lived in various European countries . They all honor people that fought either for freedom from oppression , people that were important in the fights for freedom , writers , thinkers, philosophers, the list goes on. All other monuments like Hitler, Stalin , Mussolini people that were instrumental during these periods – all dismantled . Soldiers were stripped of their medals etc . The oppressed received monuments.
This would be too long to explain in , we came anlogt way with our rich history , but please do NOT shame democratic European countries with your remarks ,I am proud that we dealt with it ASAP and here we are in 2020 and one still has to walk by this statue when entering a courthouse that operates under the constitution ,a statue that honors people that were trying to overthrow the values of the constitution of this great country . The American GI‘s freed my country and we are so thankful and today the children of those if they happen to be minorities still have to deal with the ugly past . There would be rightfully an outcry world wide if Germany would keep all the Nazi monuments behause of history . What a slap in the constitutions face to keep these monuments on pedestals and honor those that participated .
Stephen Schaare says
Thank you Mr. Dent for your thoughtful and insightful letter. Having the courage to mention the daily carnage and genocide of young black people in our inner cities is commendable. Sadly, the lesson from the current violence is that only SOME black lives matter.
My gratitude also goes to “The Talbot Spy” for having the wisdom and temerity to publish an alternative view of our nation’s ills.
Richard Merrill says
I would like to get in touch with Paul Denton. Could you please forward my email address to him? [email protected]
Thanks
Joan Young says
This is not the first time that the location of the statue and its original purpose have been questioned, so the issue cannot be wholly attributed to the death of George Floyd. Sorry that you did not notice the issue when it was a hot topic some years ago, but a number of items from that time have been reprinted and rebroadcast in the Spy recently. Those represented on the monument commited treason. It seems likely that some of them were from slave-owning families. Would not “Christian compassion” stand on the side of moving this staute to a cemetary or some other neutral location, since slavery and racism do not represent the teachings of Christ? There is a lot of judgment in your letter . Evidently those who agree that the statue is in the wrong place are far lefties or worse. And the local murder mentioned is not an equivalent to the national issue of cold blooded killings of George Floyd, Breanna Taylor and others by police officers. All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men (and women) to say (and do) nothing. If you saw the recent local protests, you may have noticed that people of all races are standing up against racism.
Eva M. Smorzaniuk, MD says
Mr. Denton, most people are starting to realize that, indeed, there was an unspoken “ mission statement “ when the monument base was placed in 1914, and the statue added in 1916. Perhaps a little late to “ honor the dead” that resulted from an act of treason, but in time to create a new reality that included the romanticisation of the “glorious South and its way of life”. Hard to swallow that explanation, in my opinion. For another viewpoint, may I suggest you read the opinion piece in the NYT on 6/26/2020 by Caroline Randall Williams entitled “You Want a Confederate Monument? My Body is a Confederate Monument.”
Charlie Bohn says
Well said!
Dan Watson says
Hello Paul—
You might be surprised that we’re in agreement on a number of the key points in your well-written LTE, and we differ on many too. But first I want to say how helpful is the calm and reasoned tone you struck. While you and I have different views on a lot of this, it’s the approach I too try to take, and the Talbot Coalition Against Racism (“TCAR”), as a new community organization, is taking that tact too.
Some points of agreement: First, I want you to know that (while I’d like to see that symbol of white dominance promptly removed and repurposed as part of the bigger history of race relations in Talbot County) the TBS is not, as some assume, my biggest concern just now and is not at the heart of TCAR’s effort. In fact we worry that when it soon comes down, very many in the community will say “Ok, we’re done with racial justice. We gave in and they got what they wanted, so lets stop taking about race already. I’m exhausted.” That is not at all what’s needed in Talbot County.
Second, we of course agree that “legitimate, peaceful protests over injustice of any type in the USA is not only justified but appropriate under our Constitution”…and that “Destruction of our Country and anarchy are not.” I am completely confident that everyone associated with TCAR shares those views, as we have proclaimed—and more importantly demonstrated by our (so far few) actions—that this is an entirely peaceable effort.
Thirdly, we all agree that “an honest and truthful effort to find [answers to relevant questions] weights on whether or not the TBS is a real issue.” And that engagement in an honest and truthful examination applies to the broader and more important discussion about racism in Talbot County as well.
The key ending point of your remarks, I think, was captured by the quote “Decisions must not be made on the emotion of the day….” Paul, its my view that in Talbot County fear, unfounded but real, is the dominant emotion affecting the discussion of race here. And that emotion is not born by those now speaking out, but by those happy with the status quo.
As you say, there are indeed many ways to address any issue, but silence is not among them. We need not grandstand. We need not shoot from the hip. You and I disagree on very many points you stated. But we do need to deal with the issues—out loud, and yes, in a spirit of civility, honesty and respect for each other.
That so many citizens in this County—most of them white–are coalescing around the Talbot Coalition Against Racism committed to exactly that goal gives one great hope that we are on the right path together.
Talbot Coalition Against Racism
Dan Watson
Pamela R Getson says
I can not agree that there is anything calm or neutral about Mr. Denton’s statements as pertain to the statue itself. He says he never noticed it until someone pointed it out, but he now maintains it’s simply a non-issue for him. That’s a nice luxury as it apparently also does not discredit his position in society or the County or his descendants, but it does for many in Talbot County, and always has, not just at this juxtaposition with George Floyd’s killing and BLM protests. How insulting to our Black residents! In fact the statute was erected and, as most similar statues of the time, positioned near courthouses well after the Civil War and slavery ended, but suddenly prominently placed for the express purpose of this social diminution…They were a reminder of what was, and fear-inducing for what could be again. A point is made that cemetery headstones are similar and honor a family—yes, and this “headstone” honors treasonous secessionists of the earliest period of Slave Power ilk. This is not debatable nor equivalent to “putting words in anyone’s deceased mouth”, or that they are only questionably “somehow tied to slavery and racism”…. they are precisely tied…the very reason for their existence.
As another writer noted, statuary in both eastern and western European countries does not memorialize past dictators, oppressors and murderers. I visited countless cities that could have done otherwise, but I found empty pedestals, a few purposely damaged remnants, or no sign at all. It has always been strange to me to see statuary of similar sorts from our early history standing in many areas of the US. My first astonishment being at Stone Mountain as a young teen. The content of the descriptive plaques stated an alternate history. In fact, that may now be a large part of our problem as a nation: long-standing inadequate, abbreviated or substantially biased teaching of our actual history including social circumstance, and lack of stressing and repeating it correctly through all school grades, not just once, dressed as a single, required “US History” high school course.
Maybe the Council won’t act without a referendum? Meanwhile, please do not advocate adding ANY more monuments to or depicting ANY warfare, which in the case of retaining the Talbot Boys, could actually be viewed as apologist.
Maurice Evans says
That letter shows the total ignorance to what statutes like the Talbot Boys throws racism in the face of Christian believe Black people every day it sits there glorifying the actions of the past. And as for a “vote” to decide this issue…who are the voters? Race related voting in Talbot county always ends up the same way? Ask Frederick Douglass?
If “…no statutes have anything to do with anything than what’s the big fuss about? Take them away along with the Confederate flags.
Jahnae Wallace says
The civility, honesty, respect for each other…regardless of race or ethnic background you speak of were not/are not the principles, values or ideals of the Confederacy or anyone who chose/chooses to take up their cause. Quite the opposite, in fact, regardless of what has transpired in modern times. How does the Talbot Boys statue promote the inclusive narrative you reference? It doesn’t. If no statue from anywhere or from anytime has anything to do with upholding the beliefs and values you mentioned, then why hold onto them so adamantly? Why such opposition to removing them? The hipocracy is sickening. I’ll answer my own question for you…it’s because their removal symbolizes the dismantling of a system that upholds and supports white supremacy and that quite frankly is what those who have benefit from it are afraid of. Plain and simple.
Linda Baker says
This was very well thought out and a very well written letter. I can’t believe some of the responses that people have written regarding racism and white supremacy. No one wants this statue to make anyone feel attacked or belittled. It is an historical monument regarding an historical moment in history that involved local men from our county. They were veterans of this war. The county also placed Frederick Douglass across from the monument to depict the story as it continued. It is an historical statue, of which many are sadly being removed or torn down, even ones that depict the emancipation, and ones purchased by the black Americans at the time they were erected. The confederate flag represents the southern states, who did not want to join the union, they wanted to have their section of country. We’ve had the same issue here in the shore, where we have tried to secede from Maryland. Did the south have slaves, yes. Did the north have slaves, yes. Was it right, no. But that was the history of the time. How will our children learn where we have come from, how the generations have evolved, if we remove history? We have people kneeling for our U.S. flag and burning it, saying it’s racist. Also saying our national anthem is racists. Where does it stop? Are we on a mission to destroy our great country? We are one of the last free countries in the world. Many, many people want to come here because we are a free nation. Foreigners call us the best place in the world to live. But look at us? We are letting anarchy take over and heading towards socialism and commmumism. Dictating what you can and cannot have. I pray for our country. God Bless America!
Jahnae Wallace says
Our children will learn by us teaching them…the truth. These men fought and some lost their lives as a result, yes but what honor is there in fighting for what they fought for which was the right to continue to hold other human beings in bondage no matter how the story gets spun. If people feel the need to honor or commemorate that…to each his own. You won’t catch me paying homage or kneeling in deference to them. But to the person that would argue that it is appropriate for a public space where people are seeking equal justice under the law I challenge them to assess their viewpoint in the context of it being their own people that were enslaved. How does it feel?
Cornelia Heckenbach says
Yes sadly how are our children supposed to learn? What do they learn with a statue glorifying folks that today’s America called traitors. To compare that statue with Frederick Douglass is another slap in the face for African Americans.
The confederate flag is a symbol of hate these days, a symbol of white power, and it is also long overdue to disappear into history books and museums that will teach children what their forefathers did wrong.
I said it in a letter 3 days ago the Statue of Liberty must be crying every day how the constitution is just being ignored for the sake of “keeping our history”
That history is a sad part of American past; let’s finally admit to the wrongdoing and move on.
Pamela R Getson says
I am stunned, too. It seems you are still advocating for current day Maryland secession and the very reasons it was called for in the first place! You also say: “No one wants this statue to make anyone feel attacked or belittled. It is an historical monument regarding an historical moment in history that involved local men from our county. ” Yes, indeed—and as such it represents a reprehensible, well-recognized set of issues that ARE offensive…regardless of whether you want it to or not (or recognize that it always has), and was erected for precisely that purpose. As historians uniformly attest: Confederate statues were built to further a White supremacist future. The stress is on the word ‘future’….they were erected long after the Civil War ended, and this one just as Jim Crow surged in the South.
“How will our children learn?” It depends—what do YOU want them to learn?
Karen Hayes says
Mr. Denton, I have to reference some points in your Letter to the Editor.”
You said:
“we moved to this beautiful area 12 years ago upon retirement. As many of our friends, we did not even know about the statue, or its location, until a couple of years ago. To say it was a “non-issue” absent the current National chaos would be a gross understatement.”
My response:
How could you possibly say the statue is a non-issue?
You mentioned traveling all over the United States and Europe. Have you visited the Harriet Tubman Museum in Cambridge? This Eastern Shore gem of a museum is a National Parks treasure, and will give you much needed history of the trials of African Americans on the Eastern Shore and beyond.
You said:
“why were protests not mounted on the equally horrific killing of Mr. Cassidy, a white man, at the Easton YMCA by a black man with a long criminal record?”
My response:
This is possibly the most racist thing you had written in your letter. Mr. Cassidy’s death was tragic, most definitely, but Mr. Cassidy was killed by a man!
You said:
“For me, whether the Statue goes or stays doesn’t matter much. Its presence or lack thereof solves nothing.”
My response:
If this is how you feel, Mr. Denton, why did you write this letter? If you haven’t visited the Harriet Tubman Museum, I recommend you go now!
Paul Gilmore says
There are a plethora of things in this piece with which I disagree. Well, most of it, really. The what-aboutisms are manifold and detract from the subject at hand, in my opinion. It is well written. I would call it anything but neutral.
The article referred to herein (Race – The Real Truth, Ian Duncan, Baltimore Sun) was never published by the Baltimore Sun nor was it written by Ian Duncan. I refer you to the following:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/politics-soapbox-black-dilemma/
Please do a search for Ian Duncan and Race – The Real Truth. Please try to find anything. Actually, try to find just the title. Or try to locate it in the Baltimore Sun archives. Let me know what you find.
That article has been published under several other titles (The Black Dilemma, Ten Percent Is Not Enough) and attributed to a number of authors. It was originally published around 2014 on the American Renaissance blog (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Renaissance_(magazine)), once a print magazine and now a blog openly espousing white supremacist and racist ideologies. Alarmingly, using this work as a reference ties with many of the themes stated by the author in the rest of the piece. If, as the author says, this is an “honest and truthful analysis of the current situation”, then we know where he stands. One can hope that, with time, he’ll see a different path as a better one.
Full disclosure: Like the author, I’m an old white guy, well-educated and well-traveled, who came here seven years ago to retire and enjoy the place and the people. I can safely say that this old white guy’s perspective is a bit different than the author’s. I saw the Confederate monument shortly after arriving and found its location on government property inappropriate and offensive. Perhaps it belongs in a place that can provide an historical context, as noted in a previous reply. That place is not in front of our courthouse.