House of Representatives Votes to Remove Confederate Statues from the U.S. Capitol

Also in Washington, yesterday the House of Representatives voted to remove confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol. In a vote of 285 to 120, sixty-seven republicans joined 218 democrats in support of the bill. Along with removing the statues of those who voluntarily served the confederacy against the U.S. in the Civil War, they will replace the bust of Roger B. Taney, the Chief Justice who wrote the Dred Scott Decision, with one of Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court Justice. In addition, they will also remove the statues of three elected officials who defended slavery, segregation and white supremacy including John C. Calhoun, Charles Aycock and James P. Clarke. The House passed a similar resolution last year but it was stalled after republicans in the Senate argued that states should decide which statues they’d like to display at the Capitol. Each state gets to choose 2 statues.