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June 23, 2021

The Talbot Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community

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Groups File Lawsuit to Remove Confederate Monument at Talbot County Courthouse

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A Confederate monument on the Talbot County courthouse lawn in Easton is racist and unconstitutional, said civil rights groups who filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday seeking to remove the Jim Crow-era statue.

The Maryland Office of the Public Defender and the Talbot County NAACP branch argue in the newly filed lawsuit that by keeping up the Confederate statue — a century-old monument to county residents who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War and the last Confederate monument on public land in Maryland — county officials are violating both state and federal laws.

The plaintiffs want the statue removed from the grounds of the Talbot County Courthouse.

The lawsuit represents the latest step in a years-long effort by activists to remove the statue from the courthouse grounds. After Talbot County Council members rejected a proposal to move the statue last year, rallies calling for the removal the Confederate monument continued. At a Wednesday press conference, the lawsuit’s plaintiffs said repeated rejections from county officials forced them to take legal action.

The ACLU of Maryland, alongside Crowell & Moring LLP, an international law firm based in Washington, D.C., is representing the plaintiffs in the case.

Dana Vickers Shelley, the executive director of the ACLU of Maryland, said Wednesday that both the county courthouse and the statue sit on the grounds of a former slave market.

“It is beyond time for this racist symbol of violence and oppression to be removed,” Vickers Shelley said.

“The Talbot Boys statue says just this: ‘In this building, white people are given priority over Black people;’ and ‘Justice for Black people means something different than what Justice means for white people means.’ To view it differently is to ignore objective fact,” the lawsuit reads.

The plaintiffs argue that the presence of the monument on the courthouse grounds violates the U.S. Constitution’s 14th amendment, which guarantees due process and equal protection of laws. The Talbot Boys statue’s location is “facially discriminatory,” the lawsuit reads.

“In short, the statue says symbolically no less clearly than were it emblazoned on the front entrance to the courthouse that Black people do not enjoy the ‘equal protection of the laws,’” the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit notes that roughly 12.8% of Talbot County’s more than 37,000 residents are Black.

“That any government in the United States would continue to maintain the symbolism of white supremacy and promote a legacy of racial subjugation should shock the conscience,” the complaint reads. “That Talbot County does so on a courthouse lawn — a place of prominence that holds itself out as the seat of justice in the county; a place that county citizens pay for and maintain with tax dollars, including the tax dollars of its Black citizens who are overtly denigrated and humiliated by the statue — only compounds the unconscionability of the statue and illuminates its illegality.”

Kisha Petticolas, an assistant public defender in Talbot County and one of the plaintiffs in the case, said she has to walk past the statue on a daily basis for her work. Petticolas, who is Black, said the monument is a painful reminder of “hate, oppression and white supremacy” to both herself and her clients.

“My clients who are walking into the courthouse, hoping to be given a fair shot at justice, are walking onto a courthouse lawn that still celebrates the Confederacy,” Petticolas said. “It is beyond time for this statue to be removed from the courthouse grounds.”

In addition to violating the 14th Amendment, plaintiffs argue that county officials are violating other federal laws and Maryland’s own constitution by keeping the statue in place in front of the courthouse.

Richard Potter, the president of the Talbot County NAACP and a plaintiff, said his organization has been asking county council members to remove the statue since after the 2015 murder of nine Black people during Bible study by a white supremacist in Charleston, South Carolina.

That effort was rebuffed by council members, who have also rejected subsequent efforts. Potter noted that calls to remove the statue were revived after the murder of George Floyd last year, but even amid a wave of Confederate monument removals across the country, county council members voted 3-2 against removing the Talbot Boys statue.

“The council left us with no other choice but to take this action,” Potter said Wednesday. “We have waited long enough.”

In voting to keep the monument up last year, the council majority said the fate of the Talbot Boys statue should be decided by community members instead of the county government.

“This should be in the hands of the community, and not our hands,” Council Vice President Charles F. Callahan III (R), who voted to keep the statue in place, said at the time.

Council President Corey W. Pack (R) and Councilman Peter Lesher (D) voted to remove the monument, while the other Republicans on the council, Laura E. Price and Frank Divilio, voted to keep the statue.

Callahan did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Confederate monuments were removed from public grounds in Maryland and across the United States last year amid widespread protests against systemic racism and police brutality. In one of his final acts as Wicomico County executive before his death last year, Bob Culver (R) removed a Confederate marker in Salisbury.

During their 2021 legislative session, Maryland lawmakers voted to repeal “Maryland, My Maryland,” with its pro-Confederate lyrics, as the official state song.

Read the full complaint here:

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By Bennett Leckrone

Talbot Voters Will Decide on Proposed Changes to Tax Cap

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This video is about 17 minutes long.

Talbot voters will decide on two substantive changes to the county’s property tax revenue cap and a third measure that would correct faulty language in the current tax cap, which was approved by voters in 1996.

Talbot County Sheriff Joe Gamble and Emergency Services Director Clay Stamp have been leading the charge in seeking voter approval for the ballot questions.

The public safety officials say the existing cap has limited the county’s ability to attract and retain deputies, paramedics, and other first responders.

Salaries and benefits for first responders are lower than in surrounding counties, the two have said, making it difficult to find new hires for open positions and leading to trained staffers leaving for better compensation packages elsewhere.

The county also needs to build a new office for the sheriff’s office and the county health department, as well as provide an additional substation for paramedics, officials have noted.

Question B on the ballot for Talbot County voters is a charter amendment that would clarify how the county computes the property tax rate.

The current language, in Section 614 of the Talbot County Charter, identifies the properties included in the calculation as those “existing on the County real property tax rolls at the commencement of the County fiscal year.”

But that wording does not accurately reflect how the information is determined.

The county finance department actually uses the constant yield tax rate certification supplied by the state to determine the tax rate needed to comply with the tax cap.

Question B would amend the language to change it to those properties “included in the Constant Yield Tax Rate Certification prepared by the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation.”

According to the League of Women Voters (LWV) analysis in the voters’ guide at vote411.org:

“A vote FOR the Charter amendment means the Talbot County Charter would be amended to clarify that the County would use the Constant Yield Tax Rate Certification supplied by the State when determining the property tax rate to be used in the new fiscal year.

“A vote AGAINST the Charter amendment means that the inaccurate wording would remain in the Charter.”

This video is about 20 minutes long.

Question C would amend the tax cap by eliminating a reference to the Consumer Price Index-Urban (CPI-U). The existing property tax revenue cap limits the annual increase in property tax revenues to 2% or CPI-U, whichever is less.

Question C would eliminate CPI-U, which in some years has been less than 2%, further restricting the county’s ability to increase revenues to fund needed services and capital projects.

Since the current tax cap took effect in 1997, the increase in property tax revenues has been limited below 2% during nine fiscal years (with an average increase of 1%) and has been limited to 2% during 15 fiscal years (when CPI-U increased an average 2.78%), according to the LWV voters guide.

“This means that nine times the revenue cap has kept pace with the yearly national rate of inflation, but it has also been less than the national rate of inflation 15 times,” according to the League of Women Voters. “This resulting constriction of tax revenue leaves the County with insufficient revenue to fund all of the budget requests from County departments. While County services have continued to be funded, funding has not addressed all of the needs of the County and has left County departments with unfunded needs. Eliminating the CPI-U alternative would help County services over the long term keep pace with fixed costs and growing needs.

“County salaries and benefits, especially for public safety and emergency services employees, are not competitive with surrounding counties causing Talbot County the loss of valuable, trained personnel to those jurisdictions. For example, Talbot County loses several deputies every year, and it costs the County $97,482 for the first year of a newly trained deputy.”

“A vote FOR the Charter amendment means the Talbot County Charter would be amended to eliminate the use of the CPI-U as an alternate to the 2% cap on tax revenue, leaving the cap on tax revenue at 2% going forward.

“A vote AGAINST the Charter amendment means that the CPI-U would continue as an alternate to the 2% cap on tax revenue.”

Question D would allow the county council to temporarily increase the property tax rate above the revenue cap by up to one cent per $100 of assessed value for five years only.

A one cent increase in the property tax rate would cost the owner of a home assessed at $250,000 an additional $25 annually; an additional $50 annually for the owner of a home assessed at $500,000.

Officials have pitched the one cent increase as a way for the county to catch up on lost revenue from the years when CPI-U limited the increase in revenue below 2% and as a way to help fund much-needed capital projects.

“Talbot County’s revenue cap is one of the most restrictive in the State of Maryland, making it extremely difficult for the County to raise sufficient revenue to fund certain initiatives, including key public safety projects, such as a new facility for the Talbot County Sheriff; additional equipment and personnel for the Talbot County Department of Emergency Services; and, a new facility to house the Talbot County Health Department,” according to the League of Women Voters.

In its voter guide, the LWV notes:

“The County Council is, therefore, asking the voters to give the Council authority to increase revenues above the revenue cap, but only temporarily and with a limit of up to one cent (1¢) per one hundred dollars of assessed value. The Charter Amendment would authorize the County Council to raise revenues above the revenue cap by up to one cent (1¢) per one hundred dollars of assessed value for five years only.

“Arguments in Favor: County tax revenues have not kept pace with the rise in County costs to fund the full functioning of all County departmental needs, nor to remain competitive with other counties in our region in attracting and retaining employees,” according to the League of Women Voters. “This means there are fewer dollars available to fund capital projects that this ballot question is meant to address.

“The ability to increase revenues temporarily above the revenue cap would allow the County Council to fund costs anticipated for near-future capital expenses, including the new Sheriff and Health Department buildings and equipment for emergency services. Any temporary rise in tax revenue above the cap would go toward these projects. Increasing revenue now would reduce the cost of borrowing money to fund these needs.

“Arguments Against: This measure is almost sure to be used by the County Council over the next five fiscal years resulting in property taxes that are higher than 2% over the previous year.

“A vote FOR the Charter amendment means the Talbot County Charter would be amended to allow the Council the option of generating revenues above the revenue cap by up to one cent (1¢) per $100 of assessed valuation for the next five fiscal years.

“A vote AGAINST the Charter amendment means that the Charter would not be amended to allow an exception to the cap on tax revenue beyond the limit specified in the Charter.

The Talbot County Democratic Central Committee supports passage of all three tax cap measures, noting on its website:

“Question B will have no impact on property tax rate. This is a technical fix to reflect the way the assessable tax base is determined in the original charter.

“Question C is a permanent change to the way revenue is calculated. We currently use the Urban CPI or 2% whichever is lower. The Urban CPI does not accurately reflect the needs of a rural county.

“Question D is urgent for 2021 Fiscal Year for the County. Based on our population growth, we need more ambulance crews. Currently we cannot guarantee the twenty-minute minimum response time for an ambulance will be met, especially in the north part of the County without a fourth ambulance. This provision would also allow for more competitive pay for first responders.

“This amendment would allow a temporary increase of one penny per hundred dollars of assessed property value. It will provide the funds we need to meet the public safety needs of our citizens. The cost would amount to an annual increase of $25 for a property valued at $250,000 or $50 for a property valued at $500,000.

“The increase ends in five years.”

Talbot Council Discusses Work Session with NAACP, Community on Confederate Statue

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In an unusual move, an organization’s request to have a work session with the Talbot County Council was read into the record at Tuesday night’s meeting, drawing questions from two council members.

In an Oct. 7 email to Council President Corey Pack copied to the other four council members, Richard Potter, president of the Talbot County Branch of the NAACP, asked the council for a work session on the Confederate monument on the courthouse lawn.

Potter wrote:

“I along with other community leaders of Talbot County are requesting a meeting with you to discuss next steps as well as how to appropriately move forward that embraces the spirit of inclusion and equity as it relates to the matter of the Confederate Monument known as The Talbot Boys that sits on the Circuit Courthouse Lawn.”

He concluded:

“It is my desire along with other community leaders that we take a proactive approach to this issue and matter, therefore we are requesting a meeting with the full council on October 20, 2020 to have authentic, transparent dialogue on how we can work together as one community to move forward in an effort in achieving a more inclusive, equitable and welcoming county that we all desire to see.”

The full text of the email may be viewed below:

Meeting Request from Richard Potter

Councilmembers Frank Divilio and Laura Price questioned the procedure, with Price saying a work session request had never been handled in this manner in her 10 years on the council.

Divilio asked if the other community leaders mentioned in the letter had been identified.

“What are we doing here?” Divilio asked.

“If we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it right,” he said. “If we’re going to schedule a work session, then we schedule a work session. But let’s have some council input on how we’re going to do that.”

This video is about seven minutes long.

 

Griffith: Talbot School Opening Plans Consistent with State Push for In-Person Learning

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While Talbot schools will open the year virtually, the school system’s plan for instruction calls for small groups of students to attend in-person learning beginning the second week of school, according to the county’s school superintendent.

Responding to a Thursday afternoon press conference in which Gov. Larry Hogan pushed Maryland schools to provide in-school instruction, Kelly Griffith said the school system had worked with workgroups and a stakeholder committee to create its recovery plan.

“I am very proud of the collaborative efforts of the TCPS Recovery workgroups and the work of the stakeholder committee in the creation of our recovery plan, as it aligns with expectations and provides measures to be in place to ensure a safe work/learning environment for all,” Griffith said in a press release.  “We will proceed with beginning the school year virtually, but as our plan outlines, we will bring small groups of students in special populations into school buildings starting the second week of school.”

Talbot’s school superintendent also said she appreciated the statewide health metrics for schools that the Maryland health department issued on Thursday.

School will start virtually for all Talbot County public school students on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Teachers reported for work on Monday, Aug. 24.

The Talbot County Board of Education approved the recovery plan for the 2020-21 school year during its Aug. 12 meeting.

Recovery 8-14-2020-F

 

Dr. Jinlene Chan, Maryland’s acting deputy secretary of public health services, announced new metrics Thursday for school systems to use to evaluate whether it is safe to reopen for at least some face-to-face instruction.

If a school jurisdiction has below 5% test positivity, or five cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day period, it should have the ability to hold in-person instruction, as long as students, teachers and staff follow physical distancing and mask-wearing guidance, Chan said.

Even schools with positivity rates above 5% should still be able to open for at least some in-person learning in a hybrid model, she continued.

Hogan, in Thursday’s press conference, said every school system in the state is allowed to begin safely reopening schools for in-person learning.

“Nearly everyone agrees that there is no substitute for in-person instruction,” Hogan said.

All 24 Maryland school districts are beginning the year virtually, with some planning to bring in small groups of students for face-to-face learning as early as Sept. 8. However, eight school districts, including the two biggest, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, have indicated that they are remaining virtual for most of the first semester.

It is “simply not acceptable” that some school boards have “not even attempted to develop any safe reopening plans” that would bring students back into school buildings, Hogan said.

“It’s easier to say we are not going to bring any kids back for the rest of the year, as opposed to sitting down and doing the hard work of trying to figure out how could we get kids back for safe instruction,” Hogan said.

The authority to change reopening plans lies with each county board of education, but their decisions must be based on new statewide benchmarks, Hogan said. “We are going to put pressure on them.”

Dr. Karen Salmon, the state school superintendent, also said she is “strongly encouraging” local schools to reevaluate their mode of instruction by the end of the first quarter of the school year, which is in November.

At least 3 1/2 hours a day should be dedicated to live learning to ensure that all Maryland children are receiving an equal education, Salmon, a former Talbot school superintendent, said. The state board will decide whether that should be a new requirement for all school systems early next week.

Maryland Matters contributed to this article.

Callahan Takes Issue with Pack Comments

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This video is about five minutes long.

The county council’s vice president took issue Tuesday with comments the council president made Sunday night on a podcast discussion about the Confederate statue on the courthouse grounds.

“If there’s opportunities where the president of the council is taking care of remarks and stuff on a radio station and doing comments, I’d really appreciate that you give us, some of the council, the respect when there’s a very, very important day next Tuesday that means a lot to all of us when it comes to Frederick Douglass and you sorta bashed us a little bit.

“And I really didn’t appreciate that so I’d really, really would like you to, if you have something to say to us, just call me okay and voice your flustration,” Callahan said as his voice thickened with emotion. “I know you did it in flustration, but it was very, very disrespectful to us.”

Pack said he appreciated Callahan’s comments, which were directed at Pack’s remarks about the private Sept. 1 unveiling of plaques at the Douglass Park on the Tuckahoe. The private ceremony will be followed by the opening of the park to the public.

“Of course we all know, Frederick Douglass was an abolitionist, he fought against slavery, I think he fought against everything that the Talbot Boys statue stands for,” Pack said Tuesday. “I guess you’re referring to my comments about that particular event.”

Speaking Sunday night on the “A Miner Detail” podcast episode discussing the Confederate statue, Pack noted that the three council members who voted against removal likely would make an appearance for the park unveiling, which will feature Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford and Douglass descendants.

“You’re going to have those same council members who voted against taking down that statue, right, they’re going to come up there September the first and pose for every picture around the lieutenant governor regarding the Frederick Douglass unveiling of those (plaques) in honor of, in honor, and get this, the second annual Underground Railroad Month as we kick it off here in Talbot County on Sept. 1,” Pack said Sunday.

“You’re going to have those same council members come up, throw their arms around the lieutenant governor at the park on the Tuckahoe. How disingenuous is that? You vote two weeks ago not to take down this statue that’s a symbol of slavery and racism but yet you’re going to run up there for a photo op on Sept. 1,” he said on the podcast.

Responding Tuesday to Callahan’s comments, Pack said the council needed to have a discussion about what members say versus what they do.

Earlier in the meeting, he noted, Dr. Fredia Wadley, the county’s health officer, had given a report on COVID-19. The county council subsequently passed an emergency declaration that did not include several measures requested by Dr. Wadley.

“You can’t bring the health officer here in front of us to give a report but at the same time pass an emergency declaration that tears out everything that the health officer asked us to do,” he said. “I’m speaking about what we’re saying and what we’re doing.

As the meeting was held, demonstrators gathered outside the council chambers to chant, bang drums and blow air horns in peaceful protest against the council vote.

During public comments at the end of the meeting, Henry Herr, a longtime proponent for the statue’s removal, was the only caller.

“I’m obviously a little upset about the vote that happened last week and there’s obviously a lot of vocal opposition going on tonight and obviously will continue,” Herr said. “I can’t say that I’m surprised (by the vote), but the fact that there was mention stated that a vote shouldn’t be taken on something like this because of COVID while members on this council are voting not to follow the health officer’s guidelines for COVID seems a little hypocritical.”

Herr also said Councilwoman Laura Price had falsely claimed that there were no private funds for the statue’s removal when he had offered to pay for its removal on multiple occasions. Others also have publicly pledged to donate for the removal costs.

“If you want to vote on something, please at least state the facts that you don’t want the statue to come down, not that it can’t be paid for by private citizens that have already come forward multiple times ….,” he said.

Talbot County Council Votes to Keep Talbot Boys in Place; Protesters Chant for Justice

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The Talbot County Council voted 3-2 tonight to keep the controversial Talbot Boys statue on the county’s courthouse lawn. With Council President Corey Pack and Councilman Pete Lesher voting to remove the Confederate memorial, the balance of the council, including Council Members Chuck Callahan, Frank Divilio, and Laura Price, voted in the majority to keep the Talbot Boys in place.

Shortly after the decision, some one hundred protesters spontaneously arrived in downtown Easton to voice their opposition to the decision.

The Spy will have a full report on the vote on Wednesday.

Council Can Vote Tuesday on ‘Talbot Boys’ Removal

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The county council can vote Tuesday night on the latest effort to remove the “Talbot Boys” from the courthouse green.

Resolution 290, introduced by two of the five council members, calls for the removal of the statue of a young flag bearer carrying the battle flag of the rebel Army of Northern Virginia. As introduced, the resolution would allow the base, containing the names of Talbot County men who fought against the United States, to remain.

An amended resolution has been introduced by Councilman Pete Lesher and Council President Corey Pack, who introduced the initial resolution. The amended resolution calls for the removal of the entire monument and removes language that would have banned depictions of soldiers.

Lesher also plans to introduce two amendments during Tuesday night’s meeting, according to the agenda.

One would change language concerning the statue’s relocation to have the monument safely stored in the care of the county “until a place for its ultimate relocation can be identified and prepared.”

The second would establish a restricted county fund to receive any private contributions toward the cost of removing the monument.

During a July 28 public hearing on the resolution, the overwhelming majority of those calling into the meeting of the Talbot County Council urged members to completely remove the monument.

The council also was given a petition with 30-plus pages of signatures of people calling for the Talbot Boys to be removed from the courthouse green. A video entitled “I am Talbot County” also was submitted into the record.

“Statues are not how history is taught. It’s not about erasing history, but about what history to glorify,” one caller said. “What we do not support is a monument glorifying the Confederacy.”

Another caller cited a community survey in which 63% of respondents said racism is an issue in Talbot County.

“The Confederacy should not be glorified and that’s what the Talbot Boys statue does,” another caller said.

“This isn’t the first time the removal of the monument has been discussed. I hope it will be the last,” he said. “The question now is what side of history do you want to be a part of.”

“To commemorate is to celebrate” and the statue symbolizes racism and slavery, another caller said.

David Montgomery disagreed.

“The monument is to soldiers of Talbot County, not to slavery, not to the Confederacy,” he said.

Montgomery argued that it was highly unlikely that Talbot’s soldiers were fighting to preserve slavery.

Paul Callahan argued that Talbot’s rebels were fighting against Lincoln’s unconstitutional actions during the war against the secessionists.

“During the Civil War, what was done in Maryland was unconstitutional, unlawful, and brutal,” Callahan said, citing martial law, the suspension of habeas corpus, and the arrests of thousands of Marylanders suspected of Southern sympathies.

But Benjamin Rubenstein noted that Talbot’s rebel soldiers fought for the Confederate States of America.

“Even if they didn’t own slaves, they fought to protect slavery,” he said. “There’s no place for racism and white supremacy” on the public square.

Larrier Walker agreed that the fact that someone fought in a war could not be separated from “what they fought for.”

“Where in Germany are there statues or memorials to Hitler or the Nazis?” he asked. “There are none. To African-Americans and others, the Talbot Boys are just like Hitler and the Nazis.”

Henry Herr, who circulated the petition for the statue’s removal, noted the seceding states went to war against the U.S. in order to preserve slavery.

“The vast majority of historians have proven it time and time again,” he said.

“This symbol is a scourge of Talbot County,” Herr said. “Stand up for the minorities in your community who have been begging you to take it down.”

One caller said he was related to 10% of the names on the Talbot Boys monument.

He noted that the monument has 84 names, but many times that number from Talbot County fought for the United States.

The “time has come to remove” the monument and show that “Talbot County does not hold racism as a central tenet,” he said.

Others noted that the courthouse green was the site of the county’s slave auctions, where the KKK met in the 1880s, and where thousands gathered — just a few years after the Talbot Boys monument was erected — in an attempt to lynch a black man accused of sexually assaulting a white girl.

Keith Watts said the statue stands on hallowed ground — the site where thousands of Talbot’s slaves were brought to auction, where families were torn apart, “sold on the very spot that that statue stands.”

“Those people have no voice now. They need to be heard down through the ages,” Watts said. “The weight of history is on you tonight. The eyes of the nation and world are on you tonight. If Mississippi can do this, Talbot County can do this.”

Removal of ‘Talbot Boys’ Statue Topic of Tuesday Night Public Hearing

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UPDATE: At the advice of the county health officer, the Talbot County Council has closed its meetings to the public. Members of the public will not be allowed to attend in person. Information on how to view the meeting virtually or listen by phone is at the end of this story.

A proposal to remove the statue of a rebel flagbearer from a monument on the courthouse green will be up for public comment Tuesday night.

The public hearing on Resolution 290 — set for 6:30 p.m. July 28 in the Talbot County Council chambers — largely will be virtual. The council chamber is limited to 10 audience members to ensure social distancing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Concerns about the coronavirus — with cases dramatically increasing in Talbot County in the past three weeks — scuttled the original plan to hold the public hearing in the Talbot County Auditorium at Easton High School.

Resolution 290 — introduced by Council President Corey Pack and Councilman Pete Lesher — calls for the removal of the statue of a young man carrying a rebel battle flag atop the monument base listing the names of Talbot County men who went to war against the United States.

The resolution also would prohibit “new statues depicting persons, signs, or symbols associated with military action … on County-owned property” and calls for new monuments  to focus on “the names of those American servicemen and women who served in the conflict.”

It also makes it clear that the prohibition “does not apply to the statue of Frederick Douglass, who is remembered for his contributions to civil society. ”

Resolution 290

The resolution was proposed by Pack; Lesher joined him in its introduction but said he would seek to amend it to remove the entire Talbot Boys monument.

Pack, who previously has voted against the removal of the monument, changed his mind after the May 25 death of George Floyd and ensuing protests against racism in the U.S. Floyd, a Black man accused of passing a counterfeit $20, died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

In addition to Pack, two other council members, Laura Price and Chuck Callahan, previously have voted against removing the Confederate monument. Lesher and Councilman Frank Divilio are both in their first terms on the county council and have not voted on the issue.

Divilio, during the council’s June 23 meeting, suggested a unity statue that would list the names of Union and rebel soldiers from Talbot County, with a statue depicting soldiers from each side.

His proposal is modeled after the Civil War monument in Chestertown, which lists the names of soldiers from both sides, and the state of Maryland monument at Gettysburg, which shows a wounded Union soldier and a wounded rebel soldier helping each other on the battlefield.

Tuesday’s council meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the Bradley Meeting Room in the south wing of the Talbot County Courthouse. The 10 available seats will be available on a first-come basis and face masks must be worn at all times inside the council chambers unless addressing the council.

To view the meeting virtually:

To provide public comment:

  • Submit written public comments to the Talbot County Council via email to publiccomment@talbotcountymd.gov or via mail to County Council, Courthouse, South Wing, 11 N. Washington St., Easton, MD 21601.
  • To provide public comments verbally during the County Council meeting, call 833-491-0327

Op-Ed: Pack, Lesher Show Courage on ‘Talbot Boys’ by Peter Franchot

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The past several months have brought momentous change in our country and our state, as we all have grappled with a global pandemic that sadly has claimed too many lives, made so many people sick and brought our economy to a halt.

For some weeks now, we also have been confronted with the brutal murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and that of Rayshard Brooks by an Atlanta police officer at a Wendy’s drive-thru.

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot

Those horrifying incidents, which stirred painful memories of the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile and too many others, serve as a devastating reminder that institutional racism is still a corrosive reality in our country, and that not all Americans enjoy the same equal rights and protections under the law.

A few weeks ago, Easton was the site of a peaceful protest in front of the Talbot County Courthouse. The protesters gathered to express their anger and frustration with the racial discrimination that continues to divide this amazing community, and did so in a true spirit of peace.

Since that memorable event, the Talbot Boys Monument — both the mere fact of its existence and its prominent location on the Talbot County Courthouse lawn — has once again become a focus of public outcry.

As many of you already know, I have called for the removal of this awful statue, which was dedicated at the height of our nation’s “Jim Crow” era and romanticizes white supremacy and an act of treason against the United States.

Talbot County is one of my favorite places to visit. Over the years, I have attended many meetings, events and special occasions in your thriving towns from Oxford, Easton, and St. Michaels, to your prosperous farms and waterways from Tilghman, Trappe, and Cordova.

Talbot has so many centers of commerce and economic activity, cultural and educational offerings and medical facilities. It is a magical place of beauty, recreation and open spaces. I also have met so many wonderful people — of all ages, races and creeds — which for me and others makes the Talbot Boys Monument stand in stark contrast to the community I have come to know and enjoy.

There is no place in Talbot County, in Maryland, or our larger society for statues embracing heroes of slavery, violent white supremacy and treason.

People of all colors throughout the country are speaking out.

They are tired of being subject to the remnants of a time when human beings were allowed to be bought, sold and traded as the property of others, and were subject to the worst possible forms of physical abuse, sexual assault and emotional ruin, simply because of the color of their skin.

They are tired of living with harassment, abuse, economic discrimination, violence and murder because of the color of their skin.

They are tired of the endlessness of it all.

Placed on the courthouse lawn in 1916, the Talbot Boys Monument is not an historical edifice and its supposed educational value is that it has served as a propaganda tool to romanticize white supremacy, to legitimize acts of treason and to civilize the brutality of slavery.

If you want to experience a real hero, take a few steps to the other side of the courthouse lawn and admire native son, orator, writer and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who fled his years of enslavement on a Talbot plantation to freedom and to become a true statesman.

I am in full support of the bipartisan effort by Talbot County Council President Corey Pack and Talbot County Councilmember Pete Lesher in drafting a resolution to bring down the Talbot Boys statue. Both men have shown strength and courage in standing up for what is right for all citizens of Talbot County.

Their beliefs mirror the community’s resolve. I would urge the remaining council members to consider their careful and thoughtful arguments and to listen to the expressions for justice and equality by the protesters.

This is a time of moral clarity for our country. It is a time to do away with symbols that treat men and women differently simply because of the color of their skin. It is time to blot out images that conjure hurt and fear.

I believe Talbot County is up for the challenge of doing what is right.

I have faith that the voices of this community will be heard.

Peter Franchot is comptroller of the state of Maryland. He plans to run for governor in 2022.