A Confederate statue still stands on a courthouse lawn in Easton, MD. We cannot allow this monument to white supremacy to be left standing on public land in Maryland.
Whether you’re a Talbot County resident or live somewhere else in Maryland, the legacy of this racist monument impacts all Marylanders. This is a symbol of white supremacy that has been left standing in our state.
Hundreds of people have sent messages to the Council and attended the Juneteenth rally and march, and there have also been numerous articles and OpEds published. All of these actions are making an impact on the Council. Yet, the statue is still there, so we need to take our action to the next level. Now let’s blow up their phone lines.
Call the Talbot County Council members today.
RESOURCES TO HELP YOU MAKE YOUR CALL
Click-to-Call:
There are five Talbot County Council members, 3 who want to keep the monument and 2 who support moving it. We recommend calling all five to tell them your views.
NOTE: The click-to-call feature works on mobile devices but might not work on computers.
Council members who DO NOT SUPPORT moving the monument and want to keep it:
- Chuck F. Callahan – Council President – (410) 200-0390
- Frank Divilio – (410) 443-6973
- Laura E. Price – (410) 725-1474
Council members who SUPPORT moving it:
- Pete Lesher – Council Vice President – (410) 443-5440
- Corey W. Pack – (410) 200-3883
Script / Talking Points:
Hello. My name is ________ and I am a Maryland (or Talbot County, if applicable) resident.
- The Confederate statue in Easton has been up for far too long.
- It shamefully celebrates traitors to our Nation who fought to keep slavery.
- The people of Talbot County who must pass this statue everyday have waited far too long for change.
- The people of Maryland have come too far to allow this statue to continue to stand.
- This statue is the last standing Confederate monument on public land in Maryland, and its prominent place on the Courthouse lawn is unacceptable.
- I will not tolerate a monument to white supremacy in my state.
- All Marylanders should be disgusted with what this statue represents.
- It was erected decades after the Civil War during the racist Jim Crow era.
- It was a monument to perpetuate racial oppression then, and it still is now.
- When you move the monument you will show Black Marylanders – and Black residents of Talbot County – that you value THEIR lives and humanity – not the Confederate traitors who fought to keep slavery.
- You can show future Marylanders that you were dedicated to the goal of eradicating white supremacy.
- And finally, you can begin the process of healing in our communities. Please do the right and just thing.
Please demonstrate that you support Black people and those who believe in equality in your community whom you also serve.
Will you do what is right and vote to move the Confederate monument in Talbot County?
Thank you for your time.
BACKGROUND:
A growing number of activists have been advocating for years to remove this racist monument, condemning how it promotes the legacy of white supremacy and celebrates traitors to the Union. In fact, the Talbot County Branch of the NAACP first asked the county to remove the statue in the summer of 2015, following the murders of nine Black churchgoers in Charleston S.C., by a white supremacist who often posed with Confederate imagery. Talbot County refused.
This is why a lawsuit to remove the statue was recently brought by public defender Kisha Petticolas, community activist Richard Potter, the Maryland Office of the Public Defender and the Talbot County Branch of the NAACP. Together, we are challenging the Confederate monument as racist and illegal in its placement on the grounds of the county courthouse.
