FILE - In a Friday, Aug. 18, 2017 file photo, workers positions the monument dedicated to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney on a flatbed truck after it was removed from outside Maryland State House, in Annapolis, Md. Maryland's Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. says he regrets that his remarks about the late Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney became a distraction. The Washington Post reports that a dozen African American ministers and community activists gathered in Prince George's County Monday, Aug. 28 to condemn Miller Jr.'s defense of the author of the Dred Scott decision. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
August 29, 2017 - 8:02 AM
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Maryland's Senate president says he regrets remarks about the late Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney became a distraction.
The Washington Post reports that a dozen African-American ministers and community activists gathered Monday in Prince George's County to condemn Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr.'s defence of the author of the Dred Scott decision. In a recent letter, Miller criticized the removal of a Taney statue in Annapolis without a public meeting beforehand. He noted the "inflammatory and derogatory language" of the Dred Scott decision, but also stressed Taney's "prior anti-slavery words and actions."
Miller said in a statement that he regrets that sharing his "historical perspective" has distracted from "the larger issue we must face together as a nation" and his role to "bring unity and fight for a better Maryland."
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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com
News from © The Associated Press, 2017