House votes to remove Confederate statues from Capitol

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U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) raises a bill after signing several bills during a registration ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on June 29, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Kevin Deitch | Getty Images

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a bill that would remove Confederate statues and a bust of Roger Taney, a former Supreme Court chief known for a notorious pro-slavery ruling, from the US Capitol.

The measure passed by an overwhelming majority in 285 votes to 120.

The House approved the legislation last year, but it failed to win support in the Republican-controlled Senate. It’s not clear if he has enough GOP support now to pass him in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

When representatives reintroduced the bill last month, Representative Jim Claiburn, DS.C. , to Confederate flags and other symbols of hate displayed by the pro-Trump mob during the January 6 Capitol riots as a reason to replace the statues.

“On January 6th, we were divided by the Confederate battle flags that were flying inside the US Capitol. However, there are still traces left in this sacred building that glorified the people and a movement that embraced this flag and sought to divide and destroy our great country,” he said. Clipburn in a statement.

“This legislation will remove these celebrations from places of honor and show that we as Americans do not celebrate those who seek to divide us.”

The legislation requires states to remove and replace any statues or busts honoring those who have voluntarily served in the Confederacy from public display in the Capitol.

Lawmakers focused particularly on removing Taney’s bust, noting that he authored the famous “Dred Scott v. Sanford” ruling that declared that black Americans could not be American citizens. The bust will be replaced by one of Thurgood Marshall, the first black justice of the Supreme Court.

“The Dred Scott decision was a stain on our history and represents the tragic legacy of slavery and racism that should not be celebrated in our country… It is fitting that we instead honor Justice Thurgood Marshall, a campaigner for justice and inclusion, who sought to Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, in a statement “Advancing the Civil Rights Movement forward.

Other notable statues and busts to be removed include that of Jefferson Davis, who served as President of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, and Alexander Stevens, who served as Davis’ Vice President.

In addition to clearing statues and busts in the Confederate Capitol, the legislation also includes the Confederate Memorial Removal Act led by Representative Barbara Lee, D-Calif. He ordered the removal of statues symbolizing “slavery, sedition and segregation,” including those of John C. Calhoun, Charles Brantley Icock and James Paul Clark, Democrats said at the launch of the bill.

The legislation also requires the architect of the Capitol to specify statues or other busts honoring the Confederacy, which will be removed and returned to the states that originally sent them.

The passage of the legislation follows nationwide protests over racial justice last year, prompted by the death of George Floyd, the black man who was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis officer. Last week, Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison.

Efforts to remove Confederate monuments in the United States intensified after Floyd’s death, with nearly 170 Confederate statues reportedly removed in 2020 alone, according to a report by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

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