Douglass, Tubman Statues Approved For MD State House

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The effort to erect statues of two American heroes in the Maryland State House has just taken a big step forward, according to reports. State Senate and House lawmakers made the proposal in 2016 to memorialize Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman in the State House.

After a unanimous approval from the Maryland Board of Public Works, the statues will be finished by 2020. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., a Democrat from Calvert, and House Speaker Michael E. Busch, a Democrat from Anne Arundel, made the proposal.

The statues will be housed in the Old House Chamber, where in 1864 Maryland adopted the state's constitution which abolished slavery.

At the time of the 2016 proposal, a statue of segregationist Roger B. Taney was on the grounds. It has since been removed.

See more on Patch: Confederate Statues: Gov. Hogan Seeks Roger Taney Memorial Removal (Update)

The project, according to WTOP, is expected to cost $575,477.

“We want a place where the students can walk from the Senate chamber, have their picture taken with George Washington, then walk over to the House chamber and have their picture taken with Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman,” Miller said, according to WTOP. “…We want to make sure people understand where we were then, where we are today.”

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Photo credit: Orator, editor, author and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, engraving by A. H. Ritchie (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) /// Abolitionist and Union spy Harriet Tubman (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)