[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 99 Received in Senate (RDS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 99


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 9, 2012

                                Received

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Authorizing the use of Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center 
 for a ceremony to unveil the marker which acknowledges the role that 
  slave labor played in the construction of the United States Capitol.

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.

            Passed the House of Representatives February 9, 2012.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.