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Statue of Dred Scott Chief Justice Could Be Removed

pbs.org

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - A bill before the Maryland House of Delegates would remove from the Maryland State House grounds a statue of the Supreme Court chief justice who wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision affirming slavery.

The Frederick News-Post reports that the bill regarding the statue of Roger Brooke Taney was introduced Monday by Democrat Jill Carter of Baltimore.

It comes amid a national debate about the appropriateness of racially divisive symbols in public spaces.

The bronze statue was erected in 1872 just outside the original front door of the State House.

Taney was born in Calvert County and practiced law in Frederick before becoming the nation's fifth chief justice. In the Dred Scott opinion, he wrote that framers of the Constitution regarded blacks as "inferior" beings with no citizenship rights.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.