Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan wants to remove the bronze image of Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney from the State House in Annapolis.
Taney was the author of the 1857 Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott vs. Sanford, which held that African-Americans were not citizens and "had no rights, which the white man was bound to respect." His statue sits outside of the State House and was erected in 1872.
Hogan said he wants the State House Trust to have the statue removed.
“While we cannot hide from our history – nor should we – the time has come to make clear the difference between properly acknowledging our past and glorifying the darkest chapters of our history. With that in mind, I believe removing the Justice Roger B. Taney statue from the State House grounds is the right thing to do, and we will ask the State House Trust to take that action immediately."
There is a copy of the statue of Taney in Baltimore at Mount Vernon Place. Following the deadly attack after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh pushed for the removal of the Taney statue and all Confederate statues in the city.
