Congress Passes Bill Removing Racist SCOTUS Justice Capitol Bust

[ad_1]

The House and Senate voted to remove a bust of decision maker Dred Scott from the Capitol. The bust of former Chief Justice Roger Taney will be replaced with a bust of Thurgood Marshall. Taney wrote in that decision that people of African descent were “beings of a lower order.” LoadingSomething is being loaded.

Thank you for your registration!

Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed on the go. download app

The House of Representatives voted on Thursday to remove the bust of former Chief Justice Roger Taney, best known for ruling that black Americans cannot be American citizens, from outside the former Supreme Court chamber at the Capitol.

Taney’s bust is set to be replaced with a bust of former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the High Court’s first black justice.

Both the House and Senate passed the bill by voice vote, signaling no opposition from any lawmakers. He is now heading to President Joe Biden’s office for his signature.

Taney wrote the majority opinion in the infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford of the Supreme Court of 1856, which ruled that black Americans could not be American citizens.

Taney wrote in this opinion that people of African descent were “beings of a lower order” and “entirely unfit to associate with the white race, whether in social or political relations, and at this point inferior which they had no right to which the white man was bound to respect.”

The text of the bill states that Taney’s bust is “unfit for the honor of being displayed to the many visitors to the Capitol” because of his authorship of the opinion.

A previous version of the bill, which was broader and also called for the removal of other Confederate statues on Capitol Hill, passed the House in July 2020 with 113 Republican votes in opposition. It was not taken up by the Senate, which was then held by Republicans.

Once signed by Biden, the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library will have 45 days to remove the bust, and 2 years to replace it with a bust of Marshall.

[ad_2]