[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 22 (Thursday, February 9, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H658-H659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




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

  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that the Committee on House Administration be discharged from 
further consideration of House Concurrent Resolution 99, and ask for 
its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 99

       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

[[Page H659]]

     subsection (a) shall be carried out in accordance with such 
     conditions as may be prescribed by the Architect of the 
     Capitol.

  The concurrent resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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