2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumFrederick Douglass statue dedicated in U.S. Capitol
Frederick Douglass statue dedicated in U.S. Capitol
Washington (CNN) - A statue honoring the legacy of abolitionist, author and statesman Frederick Douglass was unveiled Wednesday in the United States Capitol.
Hundreds of people filled Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for a ceremony dedicating the seven-foot bronze statue.
The former slave who became a champion for civil rights in the 19th century is now the fourth African-American with a statue in the Capitol, and the first representative of the District of Columbia. Emancipation Hall is also home to statues of Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth and Martin Luther King Jr.
House Speaker John Boehner organized and led the event, which was attended by descendants of Frederick Douglass, local leaders, members of Congress and Vice President Joe Biden.
Lawmakers who spoke at the ceremony seized the opportunity to discuss the District of Columbias lack of voting representation in Congress and to push for D.C. statehood. Douglass was a leader of a District suffrage movement more than century ago.
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Full article and photo here: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/19/frederick-douglass-statue-dedicated-in-u-s-capitol/
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)Tx4obama
(36,974 posts)WASHINGTON The towering statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass thats standing in the atrium of a Washington government office building has been a symbol-in-waiting until now.
Congress approved and the president signed a bill in September that directs the move of the Civil War-era icons image to the Capitols Emancipation Hall, where it will be one of only three African-American statues in the complex.
It will be the first time that a statue in the Capitol will represent the District of Columbia, which is excluded from the Capitols Statuary Hall collection because it isnt a state. The 1864 law that created the hall entitles every state to display two statues of distinguished residents who are deceased, at the states cost.
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Full article here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/11/19/174871/with-capitol-statue-of-frederick.html#.UcI3f9h0mAY
The whole article is interesting
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)He spent a BUNCH of time on Rochester NY. Why not allow him in Statuary Hall on behalf of NY??
Tx4obama
(36,974 posts)George Clinton (vice president)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Clinton_%28vice_president%29
Robert R. Livingston (chancellor)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Livingston_%281746-1813%29
Full list of the 50 states 100 statues here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statuary_Hall#Statues
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)Tx4obama
(36,974 posts)I like the fact that Douglas is at the Capital representing D.C.
Rhiannon12866
(204,681 posts)I saw the ones in the visitors' center when I was there in April, really well done. I took pix of a couple that I liked best:
Jeannette Rankin, first female member of Congress - ex-Montana
Helen Keller ex-Alabama
Cha
(296,778 posts)Office of VP Biden ✔ @VP
PHOTO: VP Biden speaks at a ceremony dedicating a statue of Frederick Douglass at the @uscapitol today. (WH Photo) pic.twitter.com/aovcBudPWP9:15 AM - 19 Jun 2013
thank you, Tx
Tx4obama
(36,974 posts)WASHINGTON Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday used a tribute to 19th-century abolitionist Frederick Douglass to renew the call for equal voting rights for people who live in the nation's capital.
During a ceremony unveiling a statue of Douglass in the Capitol, Biden hailed Douglass' work advocating equal justice, and noted that Douglass supported complete voting rights for residents of the District of Columbia, where Douglass once lived.
Although each of the 50 states was allowed two statues of notable citizens in the Capitol, the District of Columbia was not allowed any statue until a measure passed by Congress last year. Residents chose to honor Douglass, whose home near the Anacostia River is a national historic site.
Biden said he and President Barack Obama back Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District's nonvoting delegate to Congress, in her effort to bring statehood and full voting rights to the city.
"The people of the District made the right choice in selecting Frederick Douglass as their representative, and they put both Eleanor Holmes Norton and Frederick Douglass in this Capitol and, quite frankly, I don't see either of them leaving until all the District residents get their voice," the vice president said.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/19/frederick-douglass-statue-us-capitol-emancipation-hall_n_3464537.html
Cha
(296,778 posts)Thank you.. Hope someday soon!