I am writing to express my support in removing the Talbot Boys memorial and statue from the Courthouse lawn.
My reasons have been articulated very well by other writers, but I will summarize so that my statement doesn’t seem arbitrary. Is there historic value (vs. nostalgic value for some) to have the statue on the lawn? No. Was the memorial and statue placed there in response to a refusal to accept all that the Union stood for and to make a social and political statement of confederate values led by the Mayor at the time? Yes. Were confederates considered traitors to our country? Yes. Does a memorial and statue to the Confederacy create an unwelcoming and haunting, even threatening environment for people of color in particular? Yes. Should any statue or memorial placed on the Courthouse lawn represent the values and actual history of our County? Yes. Does the Talbot Boys memorial and statue serve that purpose? No.
To attempt to compare the presence of the Talbot Boys memorial to the Frederick Douglass statue is like comparing rotten apples to fresh oranges. The statue of Mr. Douglass on the other hand represents in a pure fashion, both history and a strong statement of the many values that inform true freedom with hope and integrity, meeting the high bar set by the Declaration of Independence to which we still strive to live.
It’s time for Talbot County to live into these values. Respectfully, I ask the Talbot County Council to remove the Talbot Boys from the Courthouse lawn.
Kelley Moran
Easton
marian mrphy says
I fully support Kelley Moran’s position on removing the Talbot Boys memorial from the Courthouse lawn. I would have it preserved so it could be used as a lesson to future generations that our country is capable of realizing our past mistakes, removing the memorials and statues that honor those who chose to enslave a population for their own economic and personal benefit. We are capable of educating ourselves and moving on with our new found knowledge of our own past discriminations and embrace a new life that this knowledge can give us.
Alan Boisvert says
Thank you Kelley for your common sense view of this ongoing, albeit unnecessary dilema. It will be giant leap backward for Talbot county if it fails to remove the Talbot Boys.
Thomas Malone says
Well put Kelley!
Willard T Engelskirchen says
Well said but, I fear, a logical argument which some of us will choose to ignore.