Mayor Pugh’s statement on Baltimore City’s Confederate statues

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT

Monday, August 14, 2017

Anthony McCarthy
443-902-1763
anthony.mccarthy@baltimorecity.gov

STATEMENT

Mayor Pugh’s statement on

Baltimore City’s Confederate Statues

WHAT:  

BALTIMORE, Md.  —  

It is my intention to move forward with the removal of Baltimore City’s confederate statues.  I have read the recommendations of the task force set up by the previous administration which were reported in January 2016 and provided to the public in writing in August of 2016.

The 34 page report gave recommendations for moving forward including legal and procedural requirements. The report provided the history of the monuments and why two of the monuments should be removed and not destroyed; The Lee Jackson Monument on the Westside of Wyman Park Drive, Art Museum Drive at Howard Street and the Roger Brook Taney Monument in Mount Vernon Place in the North Square directly North of the Washington Monument.

The report concluded that a “deliberate and transparent process should be put into place. The Commission further suggests that a small working group of city officials headed by the Mayor’s Office be charged with the task.  This group should have the following members:  Staff of the Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts and the Department of General services’ Historic Properties Program Coordinator.

Various tasks that need to be completed include identifying legal requirements for deaccession, negotiating and executing agreements with potential recipients, procuring funding, and receiving approval from the Maryland Historical Trust Easement Committee for moving the Lee Jackson Monument.

It is my understanding that to-date none of the recommendations to remove the monuments have not been implemented. The re-contextualization of the other two monuments has been completed.

1. I have met with Mayor Landrieu of New Orleans to understand the process he used in removing the monuments and the cost related to their removal. In New Orleans the cost of removing four monuments totaled $2.1 million dollars. The cost attributed to actual removal of the four statues was $1.065 million, which does not include police and security overtime, and storage cost.
2. I have taken steps to appoint a working group to lead the process for removing the confederate monuments. I am adding two members from the private sector to help us with the fundraising. Anyone wishing to contribute can forward their contribution to the Baltimore City Foundation/Confederate Monument Removal.
3. In writing requesting approval from the Maryland Historical Trust Easement Committee to remove the Lee Jackson Monument.
4. Requested that local construction firms examine the process for removal of the monuments and provide the city with a proposal for removal.
5. We have identified cemeteries where confederate soldiers have been buried. Among the identified cemeteries are the Washington Confederate Cemetery in Hagerstown, Maryland and the Point Lookout Confederate Commentary in Scotland, Maryland. We will inquire as to their willingness to accept the monuments and prepare agreements for the transfer.
6. Identify storage space for the monuments after removal.
7. After receiving reports from the task force and the contractors, we will provide a public time line for removal of the monuments.

# # #