With civility and calm voices, the leadership of the NAACP of Talbot County met with four out of five Talbot County Council members late yesterday afternoon to discuss the future of the Talbot Boys statue. The memorial on the County’s courthouse lawn commemorates local Confederate soldiers who had lost their lives during the Civil War.
While mutual respect was observed throughout the meeting, there were a few tense moments as the conversation turned to the role played by the statue of Frederick Douglass, the famed native son of Talbot County and abolitionist, located less than a hundred feet from the Talbot Boys display.
Given the depth and complexity of this issue, the Spy has shared most of the meeting’s highlights of the lengthy discussion. The public conversation will be continued with a open community meeting on September 9th. The Spy will publish venue and time when it becomes available.
This video is approximately 35 minutes in length
Barbara Snyder says
If we did away with all the memorials that some people felt were offensive we would not have any memorials left. The memorials are part of our history and should be treated as such, offensive or not.
Ron Jordan says
Barbara, before shootings in South Carolina, no one in Talbot county though about the offensive statute. Now it has been brought to the attend of the city council and Talbot county citizens, why would you or the city council want to continue to offend your neighbors and the citizens of Talbot county and people who may visit your lovely county?
Barbara Snyder says
I understand why the statue is offensive. But there are many other memorials that could be offensive. Such as people who are anti war or think a past president shouldn’t get recognition. I t could go on and on. Statues and memorials that were destroyed in other countries because they were found offensive erased a lot of history. Perhaps the people who find the Talbot Boys offensive should take another view point such as ,this is how we were treated,it’s part of our history.