The battle over a Confederate statue in Easton known as the Talbot Boys is just the latest skirmish in efforts to remove such monuments around the country. Delmarva Pubic Media's Don Rush spoke with Kathryn Barrett-Gaines, associate professor at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, about these monuments and the current efforts to remove them.
Virgina Battle over Confederate Monuments
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Police say two people were arrested for assaulting officers who were working with a city task force to break up an encampment near a Confederate monument in Richmond, Virginia. News outlets report the arrests happened Thursday morning as authorities confiscated tents, chairs, and other items near the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue. Richmond Police say officers removing the items were assaulted by Justin Killough and Kadia Taylor. Authorities say they deployed pepper spray, and a “conducted electrical device” was used during the incident. The officers suffered minor injuries. Both Killough and Taylor have each been charged with assault on a law enforcement officer.
LEXINGTON, Va. (AP) — The superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute said it will not take down its Confederate monuments. But the military college in Lexington said it will change some of its longstanding traditions. The Roanoke Times reports that retired Army Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III wrote about the Confederate monument issue in a letter to the VMI community on Wednesday. Multiple buildings are named for Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson as well as other alumni and faculty who fought for the Confederacy. A statue of Jackson stands in front of the barracks. Peay said changes will include reorienting flagpoles surrounding the Jackson statue and centering them at new barracks. VMI also will have classes in diversity training.
