[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 99 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.Con.Res.99
                                     Agreed to February 15, 2012        

                      One Hundred Twelfth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and twelve


                          Concurrent Resolution

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

Whereas in 2005 Congress created the Slave Labor Task Force to study 
  the role that enslaved African-Americans played in the construction 
  of the Capitol and to make recommendations to Congress on how to 
  commemorate their contribution;

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;

Whereas in 2007 the Slave Labor Task Force recommended to Congress the 
  creation of a marker commemorating the contributions of enslaved 
  African-Americans in the construction of the Capitol; and

Whereas the marker dedicated to the enslaved African-Americans who 
  helped to build the Capitol reflects 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. USE OF EMANCIPATION HALL FOR CEREMONY TO UNVEIL MARKER 
              DEDICATED TO ENSLAVED AFRICAN-AMERICANS WHO HELPED BUILD 
              THE CAPITOL.

    (a) Authorization.--Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center 
is authorized to be used on February 28, 2012, for a ceremony to unveil 
the marker which acknowledges the role that slave labor played in the 
construction of the United States Capitol.
    (b) Preparations.--Physical preparations for the conduct of the 
ceremony described in subsection (a) shall be carried out in accordance 
with such conditions as may be prescribed by the Architect of the 
Capitol.
Attest:

                                 Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Attest:

                                               Secretary of the Senate.