[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 25, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E766-E767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO GIVE DC CITIZENS A PLACE IN STATUARY 
                                  HALL

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 25, 2009

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to introduce a bill today to 
permit two statues honoring citizens of the District of Columbia in 
Statuary Hall in the Capitol, just as statues honoring citizens of 
States are placed in the historic hall. This legislation would allow 
the city to offer two statues to the Congress on behalf of D.C. 
residents. This bill is important to ensure equal treatment for the 
residents of the District of Columbia with the residents of the 50 
States, who already have statues representing them in Statuary Hall.
  The D.C. statues would likely be of Frederick Douglass and Pierre 
L'Enfant, known for their contributions to the city and to the Nation, 
who were selected by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities 
through a public process. The D.C. statues could help cure the 
diversity embarrassment of statues in the Capitol. When the Capitol 
Visitors Center (CVC) opened in December, many were surprised and 
embarrassed that even in the part of the CVC Congress named 
Emancipation Hall, to honor the slaves and free blacks who helped build 
the Capitol, there were no statues of African Americans. It also is an 
embarrassment, and an indefensible one at that, that the 600,000 
American citizens who live in the nation's capital have no statues of 
their own, while all 50 States have statues.
  On August 10, 2006, the D.C. Commission on Arts and Humanities began 
the process of creating the two statues to be placed in Statuary Hall, 
when the Commission chose Frederick Douglass and Pierre L'Enfant as the 
two prominent residents whose statues would represent the District of 
Columbia. The Commission also hired two Washington area sculptors, 
Steven Weitzman and Gordon Kay, to work on the sculptures of Frederick 
Douglass and Pierre L'Enfant. Both statues were placed in the lobby of 
One Judiciary Square, a District government building.
  Douglass (1818-1895) was born a slave in Maryland and became a 
District resident in the 1870s. He held diplomatic and District 
appointments and is considered to be the Father of the Civil Rights 
Movement. Douglass also displayed his talents as an orator and 
journalist throughout his life here. His home in southeast Washington 
is a national monument that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors 
annually.
  L'Enfant (1754-1825), an architect, engineer and soldier, left France 
to serve in the American Revolution. George Washington chose L'Enfant 
to design the new federal city of Washington, D.C. He became a U.S. 
citizen and spent the remainder of his life in D.C., implementing the 
plan that made the Nation's capital the beautiful city it is today.
  The District of Columbia was born with the Nation itself over 200 
years ago. Throughout these two centuries, the city has created its 
very own rich and uniquely American history. In the Congress, we 
undermine the Nation's efforts to spread full democracy around the 
world. While D.C. residents have not yet obtained the same political 
equality and voting rights as the citizens of the States, they have all 
the responsibilities of the citizens of the States, including paying 
all Federal taxes and serving in all the Nation's wars. Today, when our 
residents are serving in Iraq, the least we should do is to give this 
city its rightful and equal place in the Capitol.
  The statues would offer District residents the opportunity to enjoy 
the same pride that all other citizens experience when they come to 
their Capitol--the opportunity to view memorials that commemorate the 
efforts of residents who have made significant contributions to their 
jurisdiction and to American history.
  The statue bill I introduce today is part of our ``Free and Equal 
D.C.'' series, which includes the D.C. House Voting Rights Act, bills 
for budget autonomy and legislative autonomy, an elected district 
attorney position, and other bills designed to ensure that District 
residents, who pay Federal taxes and fight in wars like other 
Americans, are granted the same privileges as other Americans.

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