The murder of nine African-American people by a white racist in a South Carolina church has sparked a lot of conversations about symbols of racism and white supremacy in American culture. Many have focused on the Confederate flag, which still flies over the statehouse in South Carolina. 

Baltimore has its own symbols of white supremacy. To this day, leaders of the Confederacy have considerable places of honor in Baltimore City, which is 64 percent black. Straddling the city's northern border with Baltimore County is Robert E. Lee Park, named after the leader of Confederate forces, who fought to maintain slavery and directed his armies to enslave free blacks in captured Northern territory.

Robert E. Lee Park is 450 acres of beautiful land, filled with hiking trails, a dog park, and a lake for canoeing and kayaking. But the park's name is a symbol of white supremacy and an embarrassment. Some black folks refuse to go there because of the name. Who can blame them?

By keeping the name of Robert E. Lee Park, we suggest that we still honor such men, and we should not. It is long past time for Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and the State of Maryland to change the name of this park. At the very least, this can be a symbolic gesture of our collective intent to chase the scourge of white supremacy from our culture. There will still be much work to be done.