A University of Maryland student activist is leading the charge to add a statue of abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the State House lawn in Annapolis.
According to CBS Baltimore, Colin Byrd wants to replace the statue of former Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, who was responsible for the Dred Scott decision in 1857.
That decision made Black people second-class citizens with no rights.
“His story was one of bigotry and hate. Her story is one of sacrifice, one of the struggle for freedom,” Byrd says. “I think this is one way to get people to understand that there’s two sides to these historical debates.”
However, before Byrd’s attempt, legislators tried and failed to have the Taney statue removed.
“There are people who did good and there are people who did wrong,” Byrd tells reporters. “We need to be able to distinguish between right and wrong and call balls and strikes accurately.”
