Democrats are introducing legislation to remove statues honoring Confederate figures from the Capitol building.
Senator Cory Booker, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, made the announcement via Twitter on Wednesday. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi also called for the statues to be removed, calling the Confederate symbols ‘reprehensible.’
This would force states to replace 12 of the 100 statues from the National Statuary Collection.
President Trump and several other Republicans have spoken out against removing Confederate statues, claiming doing so erases history and opens the floodgates to have other historical figures deemed racist scrutinized. Trump doubled down on his claims Thursday calling the monuments ‘beautiful.’
Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, tweeted Wednesday: ‘I will be introducing a bill to remove Confederate statues from the US Capitol building. This is just one step. We have much work to do.’
Many of the statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection were donated as early as the 1860s. Ten states chose to honor a figure who supported the Confederacy
Under the new proposed legislation, South Carolina would have to chose two new figures to represent it in the Capitol. Currently, statues of Confederate Cavalry Lieutenant General Wade Hampton (left) and John Caldwell Calhoun (right), whose beliefs influenced the state to secede, are included in the National Statuary Collection
Mississippi would have to find two new figures to replace its statues of Confederate President Jefferson Davis (left) and Private James Zachariah George (right)
Confederate General Robert E Lee (left) represents state state of Virginia in the statue collection. It would have to be replaced along with Confederate Lieutenant General Joseph Wheeler (right), a gift from Alabama
On Thursday, Pelosi echoed his sentiments in a statement, saying: ‘The halls of Congress are the very heart of our democracy. The statues in the Capitol should embody our highest ideals as Americans, expressing who we are and who we aspire to be as a nation.’
‘The Confederate statues in the halls of Congress have always been reprehensible. If Republicans are serious about rejecting white supremacy, I call upon Speaker Ryan to join Democrats to remove the Confederate statues from the Capitol immediately.’
‘Under the leadership of Democrats in Congress, we have recognized more women and people of color in Congress’s collection of statues, including Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth and Helen Keller. As Speaker, we relocated Robert E. Lee out of a place of honor in National Statuary Hall – a place now occupied by the statue of Rosa Parks.’
‘There is no room for celebrating the violent bigotry of the men of the Confederacy in the hallowed halls of the United States Capitol or in places of honor across the country.’
Senator Cory Booker, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, proposed removing Confederate statues from the Capitol on Thursday
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the statues ‘reprehensible’ Thursday and echoed Booker’s call to have them removed
The code related to the collection was on enacted on July 2, 1864 and gives the President the authorization to invite states to select two statues each, meaning this legislation could challenge Trump’s power.
Today, 35 of these statues are displayed in the Statuary Hall and the rest are scattered throughout the Capitol.
The figure must be ‘illustrious for their historic renown or for distinguished civic or military services.’ Ten states chose to honor a figure who supported or fought for the Confederacy.
The call from members of the Congressional Black Caucus to remove the statues comes in the wake of the riots in Charlottesville, where white nationalists traveled to protest the removal of a statue honoring Confederate General Robert E Lee.
Currently, there are no African Americans represented in the collection.
The concept of having states donate statues to represent them originated in 1857 before the completion of the House wing. States are allowed to replace statues with approval from the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress. Some of them were donated as early as the 1860s.
This new legislation would force 10 states to pick a new statue and South Carolina and Mississippi would have to chose two new statues entirely.
It is likely the legislation will be met with opposition considering every state with a Confederate statue is majority Republican.
Zebulon Vance (left) fought as a Confederate military officer and later became the governor of North Carolina. While Arkansas lawyer Uriah Milton Rose (right) did not fight for the Confederacy, he was loyal to Arkansas during the Civil War and collected records of the soldiers
Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith’s (left) inscription reads he is Florida’s ‘most distinguished soldier.’ Louisiana Senator and Supreme Court justice Edward Douglass White (right) was an infantryman in the Confederate army
West Virginia native John Kenna (left) fought in the Confederate army and went on to be a senator. Alexander Hamilton Stephens was the Vice President of the Confederacy and represents Georgia (right)
On Thursday Trump tweeted: ‘Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments.’
‘You can’t change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson – who’s next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish’!
‘Also, the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!’
In 2015, House Republicans blocked legislation proposed by CBC Chairman Representative Bennie Thompson to remove Confederate flag symbols from the Capitol.
This came as a response to the tragedy at a historically black Charleston church where white supremacist Dylann Roof murdered nine African Americans.