[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 30 (Wednesday, March 18, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           ESTABLISHING A MEMORIAL HONORING BENJAMIN BANNEKER

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 18, 1998

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, in commemoration of the life of Benjamin 
Banneker and of Black History Month, I am introducing the Benjamin 
Banneker Memorial Act of 1998. The residents of the District of 
Columbia are direct beneficiaries of Benjamin Banneker's extraordinary 
work in helping to design the nation's capital. I am proud to sponsor a 
bill to authorize construction of a memorial here in the District to 
honor and commemorate Banneker's numerous achievements.
  The proposed memorial is a particularly appropriate way to 
commemorate Banneker, America's first black man of science. Banneker 
was noted for his mathematical and mechanical genius. He was self-
taught, learning astronomy by studying the stars and mathematics by 
reading books.
  Under the legislation, the Washington Interdependence Council (WIC), 
a non-profit organization headed by Peggy Seats, will be authorized to 
raise funds for the memorial. Through the determined efforts of Ms. 
Seats, WIC has already obtained passage of a resolution by the D.C. 
City Council sponsored by Councilmember Jack Evans endorsing its 
campaign to establish a Benjamin Banneker memorial. WIC also has 
entered into preliminary discussions with the National Parks Service 
regarding the possibility of constructing the memorial at Benjamin 
Banneker Overlook Park, located near L'Enfant Plaza in southwest, D.C. 
WIC intends to conduct a design competition for the memorial.
  Banneker's work deserves recognition in a central location of the 
nation's capital because of his contribution to all of the citizens of 
this country. His life has special meaning for African Americans in 
general and for black Americans in the District in particular. In 1791, 
Banneker was appointed by Andrew Ellicot to survey and plan the design, 
layout, and blueprint the nation's capital. Working from early February 
through April, Banneker painstakingly developed calculations for the 
survey, using an astronomical clock in an observatory tent.
  WIC, and especially Peggy Seats, its energetic leader, deserve the 
praise of this body for initiating this ambitious and meritorious 
project. Because of the determination Ms. Seats has already 
demonstrated, I believe that the Benjamin Banneker Memorial project 
will be as successful as the African-American Civil War Memorial I 
sponsored here seven years ago, soon to be constructed at 10th and U 
Streets, N.W.
  I graduated from Banneker, now a high school for gifted and 
accelerated students here in the District, when it was a segregated 
junior high school. Benjamin Banneker deserves greater recognition here 
and across America. I am delighted that Washingtonians led by Ms. Seats 
are establishing a memorial to this scientific genius and inventor so 
that tourists will have another important and historic sight to learn 
from as they visit the nation's capital.

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