A 100 year-old monument built to memorialize Confederate soldiers who fought to preserve slavery will remain on the Talbot County courthouse lawn.

After the local NAACP chapter requested its removal, the Talbot County council held a secret vote to maintain the monument, which is located steps away from a statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglas.

The NAACP and the ACLU filed a compliant with the state, saying the closed-door meeting violated the law.

The state open meetings board accepted the validity of the complaint.

Council president Corey Pack says the statue is not an emblem of white supremacy, and likened moving the statue to destroying Nazi death camps.

“It’s memorializing the young men of Talbot County who fought in battle and died. The Talbot Boy Statue is part of the history of Talbot County, and removing it weakens that story,” said Pack.

Richard Potter, president of the NAACP Talbot County, disagreed.

“We’re dealing with a statute on a public and governmental property. And a concentration camp in Germany is not on government property,” said Potter.

“That analogy was a poorly analogy to use.”