U.S. News
House votes to remove confederate statues, monuments from Capitol [Video]
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- In a 285-120 vote on Tuesday, the House authorized the removal of Confederate statues and the bust of former Chief Justice Roger Taney inside the Capitol.
- The bill includes the removal of confederate monuments.
- The measure was initiated by Democrat lawmakers following the series of nationwide protests against social injustice last year.
The US House approved a bill on Tuesday that would remove Confederate statues and former Chief Justice Roger Taney’s bust from the US Capitol.
In a landslide 285-120 vote, the legislation is passed and will be brought to the Senate for their vote. Last year, the Republican-dominated Senate blocked its passage.
Democrat Rep. Jim Clyburn (S.C.), who reintroduced the measure last month, said that the Confederate flags and other hate symbols used by the pro-Trump mob during the infamous January 6 US Capitol riot were the reasons behind pushing the measure.
“On January 6th, we experienced the divisiveness of Confederate battle flags being flown inside the U.S. Capitol. Yet there are still vestiges that remain in this sacred building that glorify people and a movement that embraced that flag and sought to divide and destroy our great country,” Clyburn said in a statement.
“This legislation will remove these commemorations from places of honor and demonstrate that as Americans we do not celebrate those who seek to divide us.”
The bill mandates states to abolish or replace any particular statues or busts that paid tribute to the Confederacy principles, which are antidemocratic in essence.
In particular, legislators wanted to remove Taney’s bust, since he ruled the ill-fated “Dred Scott v. Sanford” decision, declaring that Black Americans are prohibited from becoming US citizens. Taney’s sculpture would be replaced by first Black justice Thurgood Marshall.
“The Dred Scott decision was a blot 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 honor Justice Thurgood Marshall instead, a fighter for justice and inclusion, who sought to advance the civil rights movement,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, (D-MD.) said in a statement.
Other well-known statues and busts which would be dismissed include Jefferson Davis’ and Alexander Stephens’ statues. The men served as president and vice president, respectively, of the Confederate States during the 1860s.
In addition, included in the bill is the Confederate Monument Removal Act authored by Democrat Rep. Barbara Lee (CA.). The act mandates the abolishment of statues that represent “slavery, sedition, and segregation,” which include the statues of Charles Brantley Aycock, James Paul Clarke and John C. Calhoun.
The measure further orders the US Capitol architect to determine Confederate statues or busts, and have them removed and returned from their state of origin.
The legislation was fueled by the nationwide protests against social injustice last year following the passing of 46-year old black man George Floyd last May 2020 in the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
The Southern Poverty Law Center reported that after Floyd’s death, at least 170 confederate statues were reportedly removed last year as efforts to abolish confederate monuments across the US have been amplified.
Source: CNBC
Leslie M Seely
June 30, 2021 at 3:46 pm
Now wait a minute, lets remove all the other statues of all other people and things that bothers me and other people. all these statues have been up for years and did not bother anyone until all at once people think they are getting picked on. They are history good or bad learn from it. Things will never get better if the majority lets the few dictate what is to happen. I like history, everyone has had bad times if you look. I am sick of all this B.S.
the old marine
TLC
June 30, 2021 at 5:42 pm
It is your opinion that these confederate statues didn’t bother anybody. Actually they did bother many people until it finally boiled over. Yes it is history, you are correct. The Confederacy is a defeated illegal government that sought to keep people in bondage. I am sure as a white southern sympathizer you will disagree with this immigrant white person who’s family, including me, has fought in three of this country’s wars. I hope that we will only keep statues that embody who we wish to be as a country and serve to inspire all the people of this great nation. I hope one day you will join us in the adventure!
Major B
June 30, 2021 at 4:19 pm
DEFINITION: Racisim is a personal belief in either the superiority, or inferiority, of one race compared to another.
Since a “belief” can only be held by a sentient being the Democrats move to remove those statues equates to nothing more than asserrting that an inanimate object (like a rock) can have a brain.
TLC
June 30, 2021 at 5:44 pm
I hope that one day you will have a brain!
Rita
June 30, 2021 at 4:29 pm
I wish we could remove all the democrats! That would be very satisfying.
Rosebud
July 1, 2021 at 6:21 pm
Clyburn should be ashamed of himself destroying our American history. I guess he’s not an AMERICAN just a phony in Washington along with the rest of the Hypocrites. KARMA will return.
Sue Starn
July 4, 2021 at 4:57 pm
WAIT JUST A DADBURN SECOND – These statutes do not belong to the Democrats or the Republicans. They belong to the AMERICAN PEOPLE – that’s you and me and the millions of other people living in the United States – and represent the history of our country. No one asked me what I thought about removing/destroying them! I voted for the representatives/Senators from my district to represent/vote/make decisions for me and the other people in their district, their personal opinions now become moot. Let your senators and representatives know your feelings/thoughts on this matter. I recently saw a posting on Facebook – “History is not for us to like – it’s there for us TO LEARN FROM whether we like it or not.” To quote a line from a popular song – “When will they ever learn?”