Baltimore Confederate Monuments Removed: A timeline of how Baltimore got there

Story by Baltimore Sun
Written by Sean Welsh
Link: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-md-confederate-statues-timeline-20170816-story.html

The removal of Baltimore’s Confederate statues was swift, materializing rather quickly over a three-day span. But the timeline that led to Wednesday’s overnight action begins more than 24 months ago.

Wednesday’s removal of four statues came one year to the day after a city commission issued a report on how to move forward with monuments to the Confederate era in Baltimore.

Here’s a timeline looking back at the past two-plus years and what preceded Wednesday morning’s action in Baltimore.

June 17, 2015 » Nine people are killed in an historic Charleston, S.C. church in a mass shooting carried out by a white male with a racist motive. The incident leads to renewed discussions surrounding the use of the Confederate flag in public places.

June 22, 2015 » Leaders in Baltimore and Baltimore County say they want to rename Robert E. Lee Park.

June 23, 2015 » Gov. Larry Hogan says he is “against” the use of Confederate flag images on Maryland license plates.

June 25, 2015 » Antietam and other parks stop selling items with the Confederate flag.

June 30, 2015 » Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announces she would convene a commission of experts to review Baltimore’s Confederate monuments.

July 10, 2015 » South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley signs a bill ordering the Confederate flag to be removed from the state’s capitol.

July 17, 2015 » City legislation is introduced to rename Robert E. Lee Park.

Sept. 4, 2015 » Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake names members of the commission to review monuments in the city.

Sept. 16, 2015 » Rawlings-Blake’s task force begins its review.

Sept. 28, 2015 » Robert E. Lee Park is renamed for Lake Roland by Baltimore County, which operates the park — which is owned by the city.

Dec. 11, 2015 » The University System of Maryland Board of Regents vote to rename Byrd Stadium in College Park. The Terps’ football stadium would be renamed “Maryland Stadium.” The stadium was named for Harry C. “Curley” Byrd, a former university president who opposed racial integration.

Jan. 14, 2016 » The city commission recommends removing two of the statues studied — the Roger B. Taney Monument on Mount Vernon Place and the Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson Monument in the Wyman Park Dell.

Aug. 16, 2016 » The city commission issues its report.

Sept. 14, 2016 » Rawlings-Blake — not seeking re-election for office, and with her term ending in just a few months — calls for installing “interpretive signage” to add context to statues in the city while considering what to do next.

Dec. 6, 2016 » Catherine Pugh takes office as Baltimore’s 50th mayor.

March 18, 2017 » Taney statue is moved from outside Frederick City Hall.

Aug. 12, 2017 » A woman is killed in Charlottesville, Va., during a white supremacist rally surrounding the planned removal of a Robert E. Lee monument. A rally is held in Baltimore to show solidarity.

Aug. 14, 2017 » Pugh says she has spoken with contractors about removing the statue, and says she is in favor of removing them. City Council unanimously votes to remove the statues.

Aug. 16, 2017 » In the dark of the early morning, four statues linked to the Confederacy are removed from public places in Baltimore.
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Read more:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/16/us/baltimore-confederate-statues.html
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/16/us/baltimore-confederate-monuments-removal/index.html