Baltimore mayor considering removal of Confederate statues

by Jacqueline Thomsen - 05/30/17 2:52 PM ET

The mayor of Baltimore says that she’s exploring removing Confederate statues from the city following New Orleans leaders’ decision to remove similar landmarks earlier this month, the Baltimore Sun reported.

“The city does want to remove these,” Mayor Catherine Pugh (D) told the Sun. “We will take a closer look at how we go about following in the footsteps of New Orleans.”

Confederate statues in Baltimore include monuments of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Roger Taney, the Supreme Court justice who infamously ruled in the Dred Scott case that African-Americans could not be considered citizens.

{mosads}Pugh’s predecessor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (D), added plaques in front of four of the Confederate statues last year, calling them “part of a propaganda campaign of national pro-Confederate organizations to perpetuate the beliefs of white supremacy, falsify history and support segregation and racial intimidation,” according to the Sun.

A Baltimore commission recommended last year that three statues be removed and two others have signs added to them.

“New Orleans has taken on this issue. It costs about $200,000 a statute to tear them down. … Maybe we can auction them?” Pugh told the Sun.

New Orleans removed four Confederate statues last month amid protests from residents who accused the city of erasing history. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu (D) slammed those critics, asking how he could explain to black children why there were statues of Confederate figures in the city.