Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh: Removing Statues Is The Right Thing To Do | Morning Joe

THE PRESIDENT DOESN'T RESPECT AN INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY.
>> YEP. MORE AND MORE CITIES ARE TAKING
STEPS TO REMOVE CONFEDERATE MEMORIALS FROM PUBLIC SPACES.
IN FLORIDA THEY'VE BEEN CALLED TO MOVE THEM.
THIS MAP FROM THE NEW YORK TIME SHOWS 12 CITIES HAVE ALREADY
DONE SO. AT LEAST 13 OTHER CITIES HAVE
INTRODUCED PROPOSALS TO DO SO. SENATOR CORY BOOKER ALSO SAYS HE
PLANS TO INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO HAVE CONFEDERATE MEMORIALS
REMOVED FROM THE HALLS OF CONGRESS.
THE LAST ATTEMPT TO HAVE HIM REMOVED BY THE BLACK CAUCUS IN
THE WAKE OF THE CHARLESTON CHURCH MASSACRE ENDED WITHOUT
SUCCESS. MEANWHILE, THERE'S A BATTLE
BREWING IN ALABAMA. THE STATE'S ATTORNEY GENERAL IS
NOW SUING THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM FOR COVERING A DOWNTOWN
CONFEDERATE MONUMENT WITH PLYWOOD.
THE CITY COVERED THE MEMORIAL TEMPORARILY AFTER THE VIOLENCE
IN CHARLOTTESVILLE. ACCORDING TO THE ATTORNEY
GENERAL, IT VIOLATES A STATE LAW AIMED AT PRESERVING HISTORIC
STRUCTURES. JOINING US FROM BALTIMORE NOW,
MAYOR KATHERINE PEW WHO ORDERED THE REMOVAL OF FOUR CONFEDERATE
STATUES IN HER CITY AND WATCHED OVERNIGHT ON WEDNESDAY AS CREWS
TOOK THEM DOWN. THANK YOU FOR BEING ON THE SHOW
THIS MORNING, MAYOR. TELL US WHAT WENT BEHIND THE
DECISION. DID YOU HAVE A LOT OF PUSHBACK,
ANY PUSHBACK, AND WHY DID YOU HAVE THEM BROUGHT DOWN AT NIGHT?
>> WELL, IT'S HARD TO GET PUSHBACK AT 11:30 P.M. AT NIGHT,
BUT THE DECISION, WATCHING CHARLOTTESVILLE, WHAT I DIDN'T
WANT TO SEE HAPPEN IN BALTIMORE WAS THE SAME KIND OF PROTESTING.
CERTAINLY NOT THE LOSS OF LIFE, AND SO I BEGUN TALKING WITH
CONTRACTORS EARLIER ABOUT HELPING US TO REMOVEVE THE
MONUMENTS. HE'D ALREADY PLANNED THAT WE
WOULD DO IT LATE AT NIGHT SO WE WOULD AVOID TRAFFIC, PROTESTS,
CROWDS. I THOUGHT IT WAS THE RIGHT WAY
TO DO IT. NO POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE.
JUST GET THE WORK DONE. >> AND EXPLAIN WHY IT WAS
IMPORTANT TO DO THIS, ESPECIALLY IN BALTIMORE?
SOME SEE THESE AS SYMBOLS OF HISTORY, RIGHT OR WRONG,
DIFFICULT OR NOT. BUT WHY TAKE THEM DOWN?
>> WELL, I AGREE WITH YOU THAT SOME PEOPLE SEE THEM AS SYMBOLS
OF HISTORY. AT THE SAME TIME, AT THIS
PARTICULAR POINT IN TIME IN OUR HISTORY, THERE IS JUST TOO MUCH
PROTESTS, AND I THINK WHAT WE HAVE TO BEGIN TO DO IN THIS
NATION IS TO HEAL AND SHOW THAT WE LOVE AND RESPECT EACH OTHER.
I MEAN, THESE ARE SALUTES TO THE
CONFEDERACY. THIS IS THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA, AND WE OUGHT TO BE UNITED IN PURPOSE AND CAUSES AND
MOVING OUR COUNTRY FORWARD. I'M VERY FOCUSSED ON HOW WE MOVE
BALTIMORE FORWARD, A CITY THAT HAS HAD MANY PROBLEM OVER THE
YEARS, BUT A CITY THAT IS ALSO HEALING BECAUSE WE HAVE SO MANY
GREAT THINGS IN FRONT OF US. AND I THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT
WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF ALMOST AT THE END OF GETTING OUR CONSENT
DECREE MONITOR HIRED. HAVING GONE THROUGH SO MANY
TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS. WE'RE ALSO A CITY THAT HAS GREAT
COMMUNITIES FOCUSING ON HOW WE REBUILD NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAVE
BEEN NEGLECTED. I FELT IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO
DO. NO MORE SPEECHES, NO MORE POMP
AND CIRCUMSTANCE, AND I SAY IF YOU NEED TO HEAR A GREAT SPEECH
ABOUT WHY THE MONUMENTS SHOULD BE REMOVED, LISTEN TO A SPEECH
IN NEW ORLEANS. >> MAYOR, BALTIMORE, OF COURSE,
IS ALSO HOME TO THE ORIGINAL WASHINGTON MONUMENT, THE ONE
BUILT BEFORE THE ONE IN WASHINGTON D.C.
BUT WAS THERE MUCH PUSHBACK AT ALL, OR -- OBVIOUSLY NOT
OVERNIGHT IN THE WEE HOURS, BUT WHAT WAS THE DISCUSSION LIKE
BEFORE REMOVING THE MONUMENTS? >> WELL, WE HAD HAD A STUDY DONE
THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION HAD HAD A STUDY DONE REGARDING THE
REMOVALS OF THE MONUMENTS. THERE WAS A PROCESS LAID OUT IN
TERMS OF NEEDED TO TAKE PLACE. I JUST FELT WHEN I CAME IN AS
THE MAYOR, I WAS CONFRONTED WITH A NUMBER OF THINGS, WHETHER IT
WAS THE CONSENT DECREE, SCHOOL SYSTEM ISSUES, AND THEN CHARTING
OUT OUR COURSE. WE HAD LAID OUT A COURSE FOR
MOVING THE CITY FORWARD. THERE WASN'T A LOT OF DISCUSSION
AROUND IT AT THAT PARTICULAR POINT IN TIME.
THERE WAS A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
I BELIEVE IT WAS ON MONDAY. OUR DISCUSSIONS HAD ALREADY
BEGUN IN JUNE, AND I SPOKE VERY BLUNTLY WITH THE OTHER MEMBERS
OF THE CITY ABOUT WHAT I THOUGHT WE NEEDED TO DO, AND THEN I HAD
A CONVERSATION WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE CITY COUNCIL
AND TOLD HIM VERY CLEARLY, AND HE AGREED WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO
MOVE QUIETLY AND QUICKLY, AND THAT'S WHAT WE DID.
>> MAYOR, THE CIVIL WAR ENDED IN 1865.
100 YEARS LATER IN AUGUST OF 1965 LINDEN JOHNSON SIGNED A
VOTING RIGHTS ACT IN AMERICA. 100 YEARS.
THE STATUES ARE COMING DOWN IN SPECIFIC CITIES, BALTIMORE,
CITIES, BUT IT STRIKES ME, AND I'M WONDERING IF IT STRIKES YOU
THAT IT'S AN AMAZING INDICTMENT OF HOW WE DO NOT TEACH AMERICAN
HISTORY WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN THIS COUNTRY, TO GRAMMAR SCHOOL
STUDENTS, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, COLLEGE STUDENTS AND AMERICAN
ADULTS. WE JUST DON'T TEACH OUR OWN
HISTORY. >> WELL, YOU KNOW, YOU HEAR THAT
CONSTANTLY. THAT THE HISTORY BOOKS
THROUGHOUT THIS NATION DON'T REALLY REVEAL ALL THAT HAS TAKEN
PLACE IN OUR NATION, AND HAS TAKEN PLACE IN OUR NATION, AND I
REMEMBER DURING THE CAMPAIGN A YOUNG MAN WALKING UP TO ME AT
ONE OF THE DEBATES AND SAYING TO THE PANEL, WHAT IS IT WE NEED TO
DO TO BRING BACK THE FERVOR IN AFRICAN AMERICANS SPECIFICALLY,
AND WHAT ARE WE NOT TELLING FOLKS?
WHAT HE WAS REALLY REFERRING TO, BECAUSE WE WERE PERPLEXED BY HIS
COMMENTS, BUT I SAID I THINK IF
WE REALIZED WE WERE BORN TO KINGS AND QUEENS, BUT WE'RE PART
OF THIS AMERICAN FABRIC. WE HELPED TO BUILD THIS NATION
AND THIS COUNTRY, EVEN WHEN WE WEREN'T ALLOWED TO GO TO
INTEGRATED CHURCHES, WE CREATED OUR OWN.
WHEN WE DIDN'T GO TO COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, WE CREATED OUR
OWN SCHOOLS THE SAME WAY. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THE STATUE OF LIBERTY SAYS BRING
ME YOUR HUNGRY, TIRED AND POOR. TO ME THAT MEANS BE WELCOMING TO
ALL CITIZENS AND WE SHOULD WORK TOGETHER TO BUILD EACH OTHER UP.
WE SHOULD FOCUS ON EQUALLY, MOVING CITIES AND STATES FORWARD

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh: Removing Statues Is The Right Thing To Do | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Latest Posts