Received this e-mail today from former NAACP Chairman Ben Jealous’ (D. MD) gubernatorial campaign:
This morning I stood in front of a statue I walk past with my daughter every weekend on the way home from church, of former Supreme Court Justice, Roger Taney.
She’s asked me a number of times why we erected a statue of this man. Each time I’ve had to explain to her that our country, and more specifically our state, used to value black folks so little, that the man who wrote the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision that stated slaves, "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect,” was immortalized in bronze.
We’ve continued to tolerate these statues for far too long out of the misguided belief that to remove them would be to erase our history. But like the Confederate monuments that were placed by the movement of The Lost Cause, the one of Taney was placed to define slavery and segregation as necessary, a benefit to the country, and to rewrite history for our children.
Following the tragic white supremacist terrorist attack in Charlottesville, we can no longer afford to tolerate this revisionism of American history.
Add your name if you agree: Replace the statue of former Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney and replace it with one of Frederick Douglass, a man who lived during the same times, but was forward looking in his values and vision for an America that was equitable for all.
While the Taney monument represents the worst of America, it’s made of good metal than can be repurposed, cast of the same bronze, in Douglass’ image, just in time for the bicentennial of his birth in 2018.
Baltimore City is taking action to remove these symbols of hate, and we need this kind of progress across our state, but that requires a governor with the courage to lead.
Frederick Douglass said America's destiny is to be "the [most] perfect national illustration of the unity and dignity of the human family that the world has ever seen." This is what we should strive for in our actions.
Larry Hogan should stop equivocating because we have seen the message we send to terrorist groups when we do not forcefully and clearly denounce hate in all forms. So far, when asked about these monuments, the Governor has said removing them would be “political correctness run amok”. The Governor doesn’t understand that removing these monuments is not about political correctness, rather it is about setting an example for our children and showing them that hate and bigotry in America will no longer be honored.
Sign my petition: Demand Maryland remove and replace the Confederate monument of Robert Taney >>
Charlottesville reminds us with great urgency, that we are not living in ordinary times - the same old approaches to bridging the racial divide in our country aren't working. We can no longer accept half measures.
There are forces at work who want to take our country backward and we must realize that the struggle for civil rights is never-ending.
We need strong, courageous leadership to move our state forward.
Join me,
Ben