Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen will be appearing at a virtual town hall 7 p.m.-8 p.m., June 14, cosponsored by the Move the Monument Coalition and the Talbot County NAACP in support of moving the Confederate monument from Talbot’s courthouse lawn.
The town hall will come five days before a planned march and rally on Saturday, June 19, in Easton calling for the County Council to vote to remove the statue, erected in 1916 in the Jim Crow era.
It also comes weeks after the NAACP and ACLU among others filed a federal lawsuit against the county charging that the presence of the monument on the courthouse lawn is both unconstitutional and illegal.
Van Hollen’s presence at the town hall affirms his support of the coalition’s efforts to move the Confederate statue, the last remaining on nonfederal public property in Maryland.
Denice Lombard, a leader in the Move the Monument Coalition, said the senator’s presence at the town hall will send a powerful message before the June 19 march and rally.
“Senator Van Hollen brings a national and state perspective in support of our efforts. We speak for much of Talbot County and the rest of the state in saying it’s past time to remove the last Confederate monument from non federal public land. Let’s bring Talbot County into a new day ‘with liberty and justice for all.’”
Richard Potter, head of the Talbot chapter of the NAACP and an individual plaintiff in the lawsuit, agreed. “We appreciate the senator’s ongoing support in our efforts to see justice done for all Talbot County’s residents,” he said. “The time is now to get rid of this racist symbol.”
To register for this event, go here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
For more information on the march and rally and on the lawsuit, visit our Facebook page at Move the Confederate Talbot Boys Monument and our website, movethemonumenttc.org
For more information, contact: [email protected]
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.