Confederate Monuments Removed Across The Country Sparks Debate In Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Whether or not Confederate monuments should be removed in cities across the country has ignited debate and Baltimore could be next.
RELATED: Calls For Confederate Marker To Be Removed From Md. Courthouse
Baltimore City Mayor Catherine Pugh's remarks follow the removal of statues in other cities like New Orleans.
Something Baltimore has considered for quite some time, but has yet to make the move.
The moves bring cheers in some cities, leave tensions high in others and has even shed blood.
"I was voicing my opinion as he was voicing his, he cocked me from behind, didn't see it coming," said a man involved in altercation during a statue protest.
Weeks ago in New Orleans, a statue of Robert E. Lee was removed in broad daylight.
Others monuments have been taken down at night because of threats to workers.
"These monuments celebrate a fictional sanitized confederacy, ignoring the death, ignoring the enslavement," said New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.
In Orlando, a similar proposal brought protests and heated debate.
In Baltimore, one woman said "those statues must stay."
"I don't think we need to have that, we can put another statue there," Henry Moreno said.
Former mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake stopped short of removing the statues but new mayor Catherine Pugh has already said that the City wants them gone.
The four statues in Baltimore City are the Lee Jackson, the Tauney in Mt. Vernon, Confederate Women's in Bishop Park and the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors near Boltin Hill.
"We're supposed to be free, they were slave owners," Moreno said.
"I just think they should take it down and put a playground here for all of the children," Kim Williams said.
Whether or not the statues go anywhere, is now in the hands of mayor Pugh.
The mayor has said they'll be taking a closer look to see how they can follow in the steps of New Orleans.
Pugh has said the issue is cost and logistics. Some estimate the cost of removing each statue could be around $200,000.
Back in 2015, Rawlings-Blake appointed a special commission to study what to do with the statues.
Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook
