[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 135 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

<DOC>

        H.Con.Res.135
                                         Agreed to July 10, 2009        

                      One Hundred Eleventh Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America




          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
             the sixth day of January, two thousand and nine


                          Concurrent Resolution

Whereas enslaved African-Americans provided labor essential to the 
  construction of the United States Capitol;

Whereas the report of the Architect of the Capitol entitled ``History 
  of Slave Laborers in the Construction of the United States Capitol'' 
  documents the role of slave labor in the construction of the Capitol;

Whereas enslaved African-Americans performed the backbreaking work of 
  quarrying the stone which comprised many of the floors, walls, and 
  columns of the Capitol;

Whereas enslaved African-Americans also participated in other facets of 
  construction of the Capitol, including carpentry, masonry, carting, 
  rafting, roofing, plastering, glazing, painting, and sawing;

Whereas the marble columns in the Old Senate Chamber and the sandstone 
  walls of the East Front corridor remain as the lasting legacies of 
  the enslaved African-Americans who worked the quarries;

Whereas slave-quarried stones from the remnants of the original Capitol 
  walls can be found in Rock Creek Park in the District of Columbia;

Whereas the Statue of Freedom now atop the Capitol dome could not have 
  been cast without the pivotal intervention of Philip Reid, an 
  enslaved African-American foundry worker who deciphered the puzzle of 
  how to separate the 5-piece plaster model for casting when all others 
  failed;

Whereas the great hall of the Capitol Visitor Center was named 
  Emancipation Hall to help acknowledge the work of the slave laborers 
  who built the Capitol;

Whereas no narrative on the construction of the Capitol that does not 
  include the contribution of enslaved African-Americans can fully and 
  accurately reflect its history;

Whereas recognition of the contributions of enslaved African-Americans 
  brings to all Americans an understanding of the continuing evolution 
  of our representative democracy; and

Whereas a marker dedicated to the enslaved African-Americans who helped 
  to build the Capitol will reflect the charge of the Capitol Visitor 
  Center to teach visitors about Congress and its development: Now, 
  therefore, be it

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),

SECTION 1. PLACEMENT OF MARKER IN CAPITOL VISITOR CENTER TO ACKNOWLEDGE 
              ROLE OF SLAVE LABOR IN CONSTRUCTION OF CAPITOL.

    (a) Procurement and Placement of Marker.--The Architect of the 
Capitol, subject to the approval of the Committee on House 
Administration of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Rules and Administration of the Senate, shall design, procure, and 
place in a prominent location in Emancipation Hall in the Capitol 
Visitor Center a marker which acknowledges the role that slave labor 
played in the construction of the United States Capitol.
    (b) Criteria for Design of Marker.--In developing the design for 
the marker required under subsection (a), the Architect of the 
Capitol--
        (1) shall take into consideration the recommendations developed 
    by the Slave Labor Task Force Working Group;
        (2) shall, to the greatest extent practicable, ensure that the 
    marker includes stone which was quarried by slaves in the 
    construction of the Capitol; and
        (3) shall ensure that the marker includes a plaque or 
    inscription which describes the purpose of the marker.
Attest:

                                 Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Attest:

                                               Secretary of the Senate.