Editor’s Note. On July 27 of 2015, the Spy sat down with Richard Potter, the president of the NAACP Eastern Shore chapter, to talk about his organization’s request that the Talbot Boys be removed from the Talbot County Courthouse green. Almost precisely five years later, the statue remains in place. We talked to Richard about how he got involved with NAACP and his leadership in their first attempt to take down the Talbot Boys.
In a going series of interviews, both from Spy archives, and the present, we return to our primary mission of community education related to the Talbot Boys statue, including its history and meaning in 2020.
If one were looking for examples of a new generation taking on leadership roles in Talbot County, Richard Potter would be a good place to start. The current president of the NAACP’s Easton Chapter was born in 1982. And while his day job is one of being an educator with the Dorchester County School District, his new work, representing an organization formed in 1909 “to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination,” has taken on new meaning as County leaders begin to discuss the future of the Talbot Boys statue now sitting on the County Courthouse lawn.
In his interview with the Spy, Richard talks about the Talbot Boys, what the memorial means in the local African-American community as it stands now, and the generational change of perspective taking place that seriously questions how history is told in public spaces.
This video is approximately eight minutes in length.
Tilghman McCabe Jr. says
Mr. Potter makes the point that this statue does not “tell the whole story” about the Civil War and does not represent all of the people from Talbot County who fought in it. And I would agree with that. But, perhaps it was not meant to at the time it was erected in 1916. It is a figure of a Confederate soldier with a list of residents who served with the Confederacy. And for whatever reasons, it was apparently approved by the citizens in 1916. But Mr. Potter states that because it resides on the Court House lawn,it should be removed because without a Union memorial, this Confederate statue now represents bias in justice. Perhaps I am of too simple a mind. But it would seem to me that if you’d like to erect a similar Union statue with the names of Talbot residents who served in the Union forces, then perhaps that should be the focus. It could be placed right next the The Talbot Boys. Why does the present monument need to come down? In addition, I would ask Mr. Potter that if there were a Union monument erected in 1916 in place of this Confederate monument, would we be having this conversation? Somehow, I doubt it.
One final word. I was pleased to see the Confederate battle flag removed from the South Carolina state house grounds. It was long overdue. Regardless of one’s feelings about history, the South and the Civil War, it had become a divisive symbol. And I can understand it’s hatred by many. That does not mean that we should hastily trample the history of this country for the sake of “correctness.” There are many honored men and women, black and white, who helped found this country that were involved in slavery and the slave trade. The historical record should stand on facts and not be re-written to suit one segment of our society. Let’s be careful about who and what should be torn down or moved and have it based on the collective will of our society.
Suzanne Todd says
Mr. Tilghman,
I read in your reply that you were pleased that the Confederate flag was removed from the South Carolina state house. I was also pleased to see that. Are you aware that the Talbot Boys statue also includes the Confederate flag? To me, it is as divisive there as was the one in South Carolina. Some say the flag represents the southern states’ fight for states’ rights. That really means the right to own people. This time in our history should certainly not be forgotten but also not honored with displays of the Confederate flag.
Tom Stevenson says
Mr. Potter makes some interesting points. Among them are that we need to stop using arcane references that are offensive to some, and get with the times. He also advocates that we should represent all people, not just one side or another. Mr. Potter does this as the leader of an association dedicated solely to the advancement of “colored people.” There is no more arcane symbol of our past than the phrase “colored”, which constitutes part of the name of that organization. And, of course, it is inherently biased towards not advancing all people, but only one segment of our population, which flies in the face of his call for equal representation for all.
I understand the history of the NAACP and support the cause he represents – improving the lot of those who were historically discriminated against. However, to lead an organization that commits to only the advancement of one race at the exclusion of all others, and then call for the destruction of a historic statue because it only represents one side of history, seems disingenuous.
A long time student of the Civil War, I am a member of the Civil War Trust, which raises funds to buy and preserve Civil War battlefields and save them from development. My Civil War Trust cap displays two flags on its logo: the Union and Confederate flags. My lapel pin shows those two flags crossed with one another. Those symbols represent ancestors who fought and died in the bloodiest war ever fought on our soil. I cannot walk through the hallowed ground of Gettysburg without thinking of the southern men slaughtered on the field during Pickett’s Charge, or of the northern men who so valiantly laid down their lives on Little Round Top under the command of Joshua Chamberlain. Both deserve recognition in the American history that our descendants will see and read.
In one sentence, Mr. Potter calls for equal billing for both sides, but in the next, states that the historic 1916 monument be removed. Why not keep it, and build a Union monument along side it, as Mr. McCabe has suggested? The political correctness sickness calls for America to dig up graves of Confederate officers, melt down their statues, and dynamite Stone Mountain.
The biggest tragedy in this issue is that organizations like NAACP have allowed the destruction of history to take the place of constructive measures to improve the lives of all children and adults living in poverty. The focus should be on early education, strengthening families, financial literacy, entrepreneurship education, youth mentoring, job skills training, and high school drop-out prevention. I support those causes, for anyone who could benefit from them, from hosting youth retreats for inner-city kids on the eastern shore, to providing life-skills training to incarcerated youth. I would submit that those efforts will make a difference; melting down statues and burning flags might make a few people feel better, but will do little to make a real difference in the lives that are most in need of our help.
Eva Smorzaniuk says
Thank you for this eloquent interview with Mr. Potter. I fully agree that the statue needs to come down. No, it is not an attempt to erase or rewrite history. In fact, the erection of the statue in 1916 was very much a rewrite, glamorizing the supposed nobility of the lost cause of the south. Have we forgotten that the Confederacy declared war against the United States of America? And that they were fighting for a “way of life” that included the enslavement of human beings? Sorry, there’s no way to make that palatable to any moral person. A memorial acknowledging the dead soldiers, both Confederate and Union (of which there were far more) would be a more accurate and compelling way to tell the truth.
Al DiCenso says
Until I watched this video, I had no idea what the issue was with the Talbot Boys; I thought Richard did an excellent job of articulating both sides of it fairly and sincerely. I would have to agree with his viewpoint, although I think there will be further opinions expressed on both sides of the issue before a final decision is reached. On a personal level, my thoughts and opinions on civil war memorabilia have evolved as I have gained (I hope) wisdom. A few points: In spite of his skill as a military leader, General Lee was a traitor; he broke his sworn oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. As something of a parallel, in spite of the fact that Admirals Donetz and Yamamoto were recognized and even admired by our military as brilliant warriors, there were no statues erected to them anywhere, because, in fact, they were simply on the losing side. Also, a truly meaningful depiction of the confederate battle flag would be one of pure white: surrender. So let’s put all of that macho stuff behind us once and for all.
Al DiCenso
Easton
Keith Watts says
In light of these vital conversations, I wanted to share my letter to the Talbot County Council, sent last week.
“Honorable Council Persons:
Good evening.
Kentucky, it seems has summoned the gumption and political will to remove Jefferson Davis from the rotunda in its State Capitol building.
The question presented is: Will Talbot County lead Maryland? Does The Talbot County Council have the will and wherewithal to relocate the “Talbot Boys” and let them rest in the Historical Society of Easton?
The following is from Robert F. Kennedy, when he shared the horrific news of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination.
“My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He wrote: ‘In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.’
What we need in the United States is not division;
what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black.
So I shall ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, that’s true, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love–a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke.
We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times; we’ve had difficult times in the past; we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; it is not the end of disorder.
But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings who abide in our land.
Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.
Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.”
Those words ring just as true now as they did then. I would hazard to say even more so.
I urge you. Each of you. Individually and collectively. Let us not wait for ballot measures. Let us not wait for more meaningless debates. Let us not wait for more salt rubbed in ancient and deep wounds.
Let us simply no longer be afraid. Show Talbot County, show the State of Maryland — show the world — that we “want justice for all human beings who abide in our land.”
Let us dedicate ourselves to that premise, and say a prayer for Talbot County — and for our people.
All of our people.
To that end, I will personally pay the relocation costs of the “Talbot Boys” if it is relocated in the next 72 hours.
The hour is upon you. Time is of the essence.
The tides of history are rising. The “Talbot Boys” will be swept away. It is no longer a question of “if” — but when.
Yes it is hard. Of course it’s hard. Otherwise it would’ve been done years ago.
But — this is the time. This is the place. This is the moment.
Right now.
Do the right thing. Do the honorable thing. Do the thing generations have waited for.
I know in your heart of hearts each of you can do this. And when you look in the mirror every morning from this moment on — from this moment on — you will see your reflection — a visage of quiet courage and peace — or remorse and regret for that which could have been.
As RFK said: “Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.”
Please feel free to call me with any questions you may have.
Respectfully,
Keith A. Watts
Tilghman Island, MD 21671”
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/george-floyd-protests-06-12-20/h_fc9c116ead1faae7c2fa04b8ee5b1f37
Jefferson Davis statue to be moved from Kentucky’s Capitol rotunda
Sent remotely.
https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/statement-on-the-death-of-martin-luther-king-jr-april4-1968