Replacement of Bust of Roger Brooke Taney with Bust of Thurgood Marshall
Floor Speech
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Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 504, I call up the bill (H.R. 3005) to direct the Joint Committee on the Library to replace the bust of Roger Brooke Taney in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the United States Capitol with a bust of Thurgood Marshall to be obtained by the Joint Committee on the Library and to remove certain statues from areas of the United States Capitol which are accessible to the public, to remove all statues of individuals who voluntarily served the Confederate States of America from display in the United States Capitol, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
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Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. It directs the Joint Committee on the Library to replace the bust of Chief Justice Roger Taney in the Old Supreme Court Chamber with a bust of Justice Thurgood Marshall. It also directs the removal of statues and busts of individuals who served the Confederacy, and other white supremacists.
The United States Capitol is a beacon of democracy, freedom, and equality, visited by millions of people each year before COVID hit, and soon we hope to be visited by millions of people again. What and who we choose to honor in this building must represent our values.
Chief Justice Taney, who, in the Dred Scott decision, declared that African Americans could never be citizens of the United States and had no constitutional rights, does not meet this standard; and neither do the white supremacists and Confederates we continue to honor with statues today.
Justice Taney's decision continued and permitted the expansion of slavery. Those who founded, served, and fought for the Confederacy were willing to spill American blood in defense of it.
In his infamous Cornerstone Speech, Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens said that slavery and white supremacy were the cornerstone of the Confederacy.
There is no shortage of American figures like Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court, more deserving of the honor of being displayed in our Capitol.
There are some who argue that this action is an attempt to erase and forget our history. Nothing could be further from the truth. We must never forget our Nation's shameful periods of slavery, segregation, and racism.
This is, instead, about who we choose to honor, who we choose to literally put on the pedestal and display as emblematic of our values.
We are just months removed from January 6, when a mob of insurrectionists looking to violently overturn a Presidential election stormed this very building. During that awful attack, the same Confederate flag carried into battle against the United States in the 19th century was again carried into battle against the United States and into this very Capitol.
It is long past time to remove from a place of honor in our Nation's Capitol the statues and busts of those who favored war against the United States in support of the so-called government founded on a cornerstone of racism and white supremacy.
Outside the Old Supreme Court Chamber, before you get to the Taney bust, you pass another sculpture, which depicts the figures of History and Justice. Today, we can demonstrate to the Nation and the world that we have learned from our history and we continue to pursue justice.
Put another way, we can follow the advice of the great American poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou. This is what she said: ``Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.''
Let us now show ourselves and the world that we are who we claim to be. Let us do better.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R.
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Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, before yielding to the gentleman from North Carolina, I would like to correct the record. The Joint Committee on the Library organized last Wednesday. Until last Wednesday, the Joint Committee was chaired by Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, a Republican Senator, and I have now been chair for 6 days and hope to act promptly on the North Carolina matter.
Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield), the distinguished chair of the Election Subcommittee in the House Administration Committee.
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Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, before yielding, I just want to note, for purposes of clarifying the historical record, that the Republicans of the 19th century and the early 20th century bear almost no resemblance to the Republican Party of today. Similarly, the Democratic Party bears no resemblance to the Democratic Party of the 19th and early 20th centuries. They are the same parties in name only.
In the 19th century, the Republicans were generally the party of the northerners, and the Democrats were the party of the South, and that has switched.
Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Speaker of the House.
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Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), the majority whip. We are so lucky to have as our whip someone who started his public service as a fighter for civil rights. Like our colleague, the late John Lewis, our whip put his life on the line for civil rights and for voting rights.
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Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, just a note of the process. In fact, Arkansas is now selecting an artist to develop the Bates statue that has to be approved before we can proceed. Meanwhile, even though they want to get rid of that statue, it stays here. If we pass this bill, the statue will be gone while Arkansas pursues a replacement.
Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin), my colleague, a member of the Committee on House Administration, and a scholar and former constitutional law professor.
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Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Maryland.
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Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green).
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Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, may I ask how much time remains on both sides.
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Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass).
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Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the majority leader.
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Ms. LOFGREN. Well, the other speakers we are expecting I think are caught up in a long appropriations markup, so you may proceed. I reserve the balance of my time.
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Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Just a couple of clarifications because I think it may be confusing to the general public hearing about what is really a rather arcane process for States to add and remove statues.
The Joint Committee on the Library ultimately approves it, but the process is driven by the States, the Architect of the Capitol does all of the heavy lifting, looking at the statues, making sure that the replacement statue meets the engineering requirements and the like. I would just like to note that until last Wednesday, Senator Roy Blunt was chair of the Joint Committee on the Library, and I have been chair of the Joint Committee on the Library now for 6 days.
In that time, I actually have approved the reopening of the Botanical Gardens. I have approved the replacement of the Kansas statue that I received the letter on Friday. And I have just received the information on North Carolina, and I plan to work on that very hard and, hopefully, very promptly get a decision.
So I don't think that speaks to undue delay in the 6 days that I have been chair of the Joint Committee on the Library.
I do think it is important that we take the step to remove these Confederates and segregationists and pro-slavery statues from our Statuary Hall. In some cases, States have either started the steps to remove them. But while that process is ongoing, these individuals are on a pedestal. And we cannot forget our history, but we don't have to put segregationists and pro-slavery historical figures on a pedestal. We don't honor them, although we do remember them.
So let's adopt this measure to deal with those statues.
But there is another thing. There are situations such as the statue of Justice Taney that were not sent here by any State, and only we can remove them expeditiously. We have said, and we have heard from people more eloquent than I about why Justice Taney should not be honored.
In 1865, a few years before the Taney bust was ultimately commissioned, the Senate debated it. They debated whether to commission the bust of Justice Taney for the Supreme Court room. Judgment is beginning now; and an emancipated country will fasten upon him the stigma which he deserves.''
Now, it may have taken longer than Senator Sumner envisioned, in fact, 156 years to attach the stigma that belongs to Justice Taney, but we will attach that stigma today if we pass this bill.
In closing, I just want to say that all of us are here for a few years. Some longer, some shorter, but we are just here for a little slice of history. And I feel fortunate that my little slice of history allowed me to be here the same time as the late John Lewis. I can almost imagine him standing here on the floor. How fortunate I am to have served with him. And how fortunate I am to serve with our majority whip, Mr. Clyburn, who put his body on the line to fight against segregation and to fight for voting rights. They are leaders of our country. I am proud to serve with them. Let's show how much we honor them by voting for this bill.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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