• About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Write for us
  • Contact
  • Terms of service
No Result
View All Result
Thursday, April 22, 2021
THE MILLENNIAL SOURCE
  • World
  • US
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Profiles
  • Lifestyle
    • Food & Travel
    • Tech & Money
    • Health
    • Entertainment
  • Newsletter
TMS
No Result
View All Result
Home WORLD

US House approves legislation to remove Confederate statues from Capitol

byThe Millennial Source
July 23, 2020
in WORLD
Reading Time: 4 mins read
House votes to remove Confederate statues from the Capitol

AP

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin



On Wednesday, the United States House of Representatives passed legislation by a bipartisan vote of 305-113 to remove Confederate statues from the National Statuary Hall Collection in the US Capitol. 

Seventy-two Republicans voted for the legislation with the Democrats. The 113 Representatives who voted against the legislation were all Republicans. 

The bill requires the removal of statues of those who voluntarily served the Confederate States during the American Civil War with the aim of preserving slavery. 

Steny Hoyer, House majority leader and Democratic representative of Maryland, introduced the bill.

“Defenders and purveyors of sedition, slavery, segregation and white supremacy have no place in this temple of liberty,” he said of the statues at a news conference on Wednesday. 

Democrats have considered the prospect of removing Confederate statues from the Capitol before without the issue being debated on the House floor.

However, the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, by Derek Chauvin, a white former police officer, led to calls being reignited for the removal of Confederate statues, this time with greater intensity and backed by strong public opinion.

Following Floyd’s murder, nationwide protests against systemic racism have seen the toppling of many statues associated with America’s legacy of slavery and segregation.

“These painful symbols of bigotry and racism — they have no place in our society, and certainly should not be enshrined in the United States Capitol,” said Democratic Representative of California and co-sponsor of the bill Barbara Lee. 

“It’s past time that we end the glorification of men who committed treason against the United States in a concerted effort to keep African Americans in chains.”

The bill specifically calls for the removal of the statues of five men, one of which is a bust of Chief Justice Roger Taney. 

Taney gave the majority Supreme Court ruling in the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford case where slaves were deemed not to be American citizens and thus unable to bring a lawsuit to the court.

The bill calls for his statue to be replaced with that of Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court justice. 

The other statues include two former US vice presidents, John Calhoun and John Breckinridge, former North Carolina governor, Charles Brantley Aycock, and former senator and governor of Arkansas James Paul Clarke, all of whom defended and fought for slavery and segregation in America. 

The states are responsible for sending two statues each to the National Statuary Collection in the Capitol. The members of Congress cannot replace those statues as only the states have this authority under Federal law. 

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that the decision to remove the statues should be left with the states only. He also called the House legislation “clearly a bridge too far”, adding that it was an attempt to “airbrush the Capitol.”

It remains to be seen whether the bill will pass in the Senate. 

“Imagine what it feels like as an African American to know that my ancestors built the Capitol, but yet there are monuments to the very people that enslaved my ancestors,” Karen Bass, the Democratic representative of California and chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus said.

“Statues are not just historical markers but are tributes, a way to honor an individual. These individuals do not deserve to be honored.”

Have a tip or story? Get in touch with our reporters at [email protected]

Like TMS? Subscribe to our free daily newsletter

Related

Tags: North AmericaPoliticsShort read
ShareTweetShare

Latest Posts

Here are the reactions to the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin case

Here are the reactions to the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin case

April 22, 2021
With the Coinbase IPO, what is the future of cryptocurrency?

With the Coinbase IPO, what is the future of cryptocurrency?

April 22, 2021
Brazil’s P1 variant has the world worried

Brazil’s P1 variant has the world worried

April 21, 2021

Here’s what business leaders think about Biden’s proposed tax plan

April 21, 2021

Derek Chauvin is found guilty of murdering George Floyd

April 21, 2021

Will Biden be able to pass lasting gun reform?

April 20, 2021

China is the epicenter of global tech production. What does that mean for the global economy?

April 20, 2021

China’s Belt and Road Initiative may have a competitor: The Blue Dot Network

April 20, 2021

Will China soon have more billionaires than the US?

April 20, 2021
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Write for us
  • Contact
  • Terms of service

© 2021 The Millennial Source Ltd.

No Result
View All Result
  • World
  • US
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Profiles
  • Lifestyle
    • Food & Travel
    • Tech & Money
    • Health
    • Entertainment
  • Newsletter

© 2021 The Millennial Source Ltd.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

The Millennial Source
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.