[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E106]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         INTRODUCTION OF THE ANDREW JACKSON STATUE REMOVAL ACT

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 8, 2023

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to introduce the Andrew 
Jackson Statue Removal Act, which would remove the Andrew Jackson 
statue from Lafayette Park, a federal park in the District of Columbia, 
and require the Secretary of the Interior to donate the statue to a 
museum or similar entity. This bill is part of a series of statue and 
memorial removal bills I am introducing during Black History Month.
  The land that comprises Lafayette Park has been used as a racetrack, 
a showplace for caged animals, a graveyard, a market where enslaved 
people were sold, an encampment for soldiers and for political protests 
and celebrations. Jackson was an enslaver and signed a law that forced 
Native Americans to move west of the Mississippi River. During this 
forced expulsion by the federal government, roughly 4,000 Cherokee died 
in what is now known as the Trail of Tears.
  The statue, the first in Lafayette Park, was dedicated on January 8, 
1853, on the 38th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, which the 
statue depicts. This prominent location in the Nation's capital, right 
outside of the White House, should never have honored a man who was an 
unabashed racist, owned enslaved people and authorized the genocide of 
Native Americans. Jackson's entire tenure is a shameful part of our 
history and should not be honored with a statue in Lafayette Park.
  This bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior to ensure the 
removal of the statue from Lafayette Park and to donate the statue and 
marble base to a museum or similar entity so that the statue can be 
accompanied by the appropriate historical context. The next generation 
can learn from this painful chapter in our history without celebrating 
it.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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