Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling for the removal of 11 Confederate statues from the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall Collection.
In a letter sent on Wednesday, Pelosi asked the Joint Committee on the Library — led by Senate Rules and Administration Chairman Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican, and House Administration Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat — to direct the Architect of the Capitol to remove the statues of soldiers and officials who represent the Confederacy.
Pelosi specifically mentioned two prominent Confederates — Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens — who served as president and vice president of the Confederate States of America, respectively, and who were charged with treason against the United States. Stephens’ statue was given by Georgia and Davis’ by Mississippi.
“While I believe it is imperative that we never forget our history lest we repeat it, I also believe that 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,” Pelosi wrote.
The request comes as the nation grapples with the prevalence of police killings of black people, including the death of George Floyd. The request also came on the day President Donald Trump said he would not consider renaming any military bases that derive from Confederate figures.
Adding to the context, NASCAR, the stock car-racing league born in the South, announced it was banning the Confederate battle flag from its events.
Lofgren said she agrees the Joint Committee and the Architect of the Capitol should quickly remove the Confederate statues.
“I stand ready, and call on the Chair of the Joint Committee to swiftly approve the removal of these statues,” she said in a statement. “The Capitol building belongs to the American people and cannot serve as a place of honor for the hatred and racism that tears at the fabric of our nation, the very poison that these statues embody.”
Mississippi is the only state with two Confederates in the collection: Jefferson Davis and James Z. George. Neither was born in Mississippi.
George was a Confederate colonel who became a U.S. senator and chaired Mississippi’s Democratic Executive Committee from 1875 to 1876, crafting the “Mississippi Plan,” a campaign of voter intimidation and violent repression.
George led the construction of Mississippi’s 1890 Constitution, which effectively reduced the number of qualified black Mississippi voters from 147,205 to 8,615, an action that resulted in a white electoral majority in every county, according to a 2017 report by the University of Mississippi Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on History and Context.
South Carolina is represented by Wade Hampton, a Confederate, and John C. Calhoun. Calhoun died before the inception of the Confederacy, but would have likely been a supporter of it.
States can ask the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress to approve a replacement — if the request has first been backed by a resolution adopted by the state’s legislature and governor.
The statue up for replacement must have been displayed in the Capitol for at least 10 years; however, the committee can waive the requirement for cause at a state’s request.
I think Pelosi should be removed not the statues. This political correctness BS and bowing down to cry baby snowflakes has to end. We can’t change our history but we can learn from it.
PIGLOSI LEAVE THE STATUES ALONE WHAT YOU AFRAID OF THEY MIGHT COME AFTER YOU FOR BEING A LIER AND CHEAT. THE STATUES ARE HISTORY WHICH YOU PROBABLY FLUNKED IN SCHOOL SO THIS IS YOUR WAY OF GETTING BACK AT THEM. THEY ARE NOT THE ONES SPREADING HATE AND DESTRUCTION IT IS YOU AND YOUR GANG OF MISFITS. IT SHOULD BE UP TO THE PEOPLE IF THE STATUES SHOULD GO. WE CARE MORE FOR THE STATUES THEN WE DO FOR YOU SO YOU SHOULD BE REMOVED ASAP.
The best figure to remove from the halls of congress would be Nancy Pelosi!
It is hilarious that Pelosi agreed to have statues removed that represents the democrat party. How so many educated blacks belong to the party that voted blacks should never be free. These are they that said massa we don’t want freedom and what is freedom. The democrats will put on any guise to be in gm power and the black elected officials continue to lie to the people for the democrat elite and the deep swamp that represents both parties.
How can anyone ever find out what happened in history if all history is erased? How can statues harm anyone or anything? Lets get rid of all Germans because they depict the NAZI’S of world war II! Should we get rid of all history of the US ARMY because of what George Custer , and others did to extermenate all Indians who are the only true Americans?
Best solution is to REMOVE PELOSI..
Our legislature has nothing better to do???
“George was a Confederate colonel who became a U.S. senator and chaired Mississippi’s Democratic Executive Committee from 1875 to 1876, crafting the “Mississippi Plan,” a campaign of voter intimidation and violent repression.”
I wonder if Pelosi knows he was a Democrat and a Confederate colonel.
You people are unbelievably stupid if you think destroying our nation’s history is going to make racism better. But then only a racist bigot would think that way. Are you a racist bigot?
Civil War Monuments, Next they will want to take CSA monuments down at Civil War Battle sites ! All monuments are part of the USA Military history, if they want them removed ?
Move them to a museum rather than being damaged ! Or put them up for sale to Civil War history buffs ( I’d buy a cannon one ) CW interest groups etc.
Some People have no respect for USA history !
Now ? renaming military locations ? Go ARMY Retired
Civil War history I enjoy, CSA & USA, since a child in 1961, for 9 years I enjoyed being a CSA CW reenactor, nothing political, just different !
PELOSI ! Mean & Ugly ! Term limits needed ! like the Military !
Another B ! S ! RAT from SHIT A FORNIA !
She acts / talks like she has Old Timers issues !
20 IN & OUT RETIRE
It’s our history and should be let alone. The states can do what they want to do and
They are not confederate! Years ago congress, where she is supposed to work but doesn’t, designated them US statues etc.
Who does she think she is? They don’t belong to her and even though she is playing the President role these statues belong to the American People. It’s part of our history! Anyone have a rocket available so we can send her to the moon with a one-way ticket?
Remove the statue of Nancy Pelosi. Oops sorry. That is Nancy Pelosi herself!???
The Capitol is filled with statues of great Americans. These statues represent great people in American history that represented half of our nation. These are historical representations of our American history and should be seen and heard for who they were and what they stood for…like it or not. This whole argument is not about the evils of slavery but about the appeasement of groups that will force the eradication of history to indoctrinate a new generation to political slavery. To erase history is to destroy the future.
Pelosi needs to be remove from the USA. She is completely crazy as she has been. She is evil and soooo selfish. It is really all about poor Pelosi.
30 years and she never did anything, now they have to go.