'5


g1.
STATE OF MARYLAND
?qu OFFICE OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

BOYD K. RUTHERFORD
GOVERNOR

June 21,2019

The Honorable Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. The Honorable Adrienne A. Jones
Senate President Speaker of the House

State House State House

100 State Circle 100 State Circle

Annapolis, MD 21401 Annapolis, MD 21401

Ms. Laura Mears

Chairman, Maryland Historical Trust
Board of Trustees

100 Community Place, 3rd Floor
Crownsville, MD 21032

Dear State House Trust Members:

The Maryland State House, the oldest still in continuous legislative use, is a treasured part of our
state and our country?s history. We come here every day to do the work of democracy, a
privilege that was hard won by generations of men and women. The State House Trust is charged
with ensuring that we properly commemorate this heritage.

As the Speaker noted in her letter to the Trust, the Maryland State Flag is a symbol of
reconciliation and signi?es the rebuilding of a once divided state. The Confederate Battle Flag
itself is a divisive symbol and has no place in this or any state house.

Therefore, it is my recommendation that the ?Maryland Remembers? plaque be updated by
replacing the Confederate Flag with the Maryland State Flag, while still acknowledging the
sacri?ces Marylanders made during the Civil War.

We cannot erase our history, nor should we. It is important that we remember, and teach future
generations, that ours was a divided state. The ?rst casualties of the Civil War were in Baltimore,
and Maryland is home to some of the con?ict?s bloodiest battle?elds. It is undoubtedly a painful
and complicated chapter, but it is one we work to overcome every day by striving to live up to
our founding ideals.

We have an obligation to represent our history appropriately. That memory helps us all
appreciate the progress that we have made in the years since, and our continued work towards a
more perfect union.

STATE HOUSE. ANNAPOLIS. MARYLAND aid-OI
(4IO) 974-390I I-BOO-BI l-8336
TTY USERS CALL VIA MD RELAY

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

ear/M

Boyd K. Rutherford
Lt. Governor

cc: Elaine Bachmann, Maryland State Archives