Introduction of the Albert Pike Statue Removal Act
Floor Speech
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Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Albert Pike Statue Removal Act, which would require the removal of the statue of Confederate General Albert Pike from federal land near Judiciary Square in the District of Columbia, which was illegally torn down last year. The bill also would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to donate the statue to a museum or a similar entity. Last Congress, the House Committee on Natural Resources passed this bill by voice vote. This is the second in a series of statue and memorial removal bills I am introducing during Black History Month.
This statue was authorized, not by the District, but by Congress in 1898, when the District had no home rule. The statue was constructed using both federal and private funds. The Freemasons, of which Pike was a member, donated the majority of the money needed to build and install the statue in 1901. I oppose destroying Confederate statues, because I believe they should be moved to more appropriate settings, like museums, to avoid erasing an important part of history from which Americans must continue to learn.
Pike, a Confederate general who served dishonorably and was forced to resign in disgrace, represents the worst of the Confederacy. Soldiers under his command were found to have mutilated the bodies of Union soldiers, and he was ultimately imprisoned after his fellow Confederate officers reported that he had been misappropriating funds. Adding to the dishonor of taking up arms against the United States, Pike dishonored even his Confederate military service. He certainly has absolutely no claim to be memorialized in the nation's capital. Even those who do not want Confederate statues removed will have to justify according Pike any honor considering his dishonorable history.
After meeting with the Freemasons, I believe the best course of action is to remove the statue and find a more appropriate place for it. Given the statue's divisive nature, the Freemasons themselves support the statue's removal, as do the D.C. Mayor and the D.C. Council.
I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
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