Congress set to replace Dred Scott author's statue with Thurgood Marshall
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Wednesday, November 13, 2024


Congress set to replace Dred Scott author's statue with Thurgood Marshall
A bust of Roger Brooke Taney in the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the Capitol, Washington, on June 29, 2021. Congress gave final approval to legislation to remove from the Capitol a statue of Roger Brooke Taney, the Supreme Court justice who wrote the racist Dred Scott decision, and replace it with a bust of Thurgood Marshall, a civil rights icon and the first Black man to serve as a justice on the nation’s highest court. (Stefani Reynolds/The New York Times)

by Luke Broadwater



NEW YORK, NY.- Congress on Wednesday gave final approval to legislation to remove from the Capitol a statue of Roger Brooke Taney, the Supreme Court justice who wrote the racist Dred Scott decision, and replace it with a bust of Thurgood Marshall, a civil rights icon and the first Black man to serve as a justice on the nation’s highest court.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., passed the House by a voice vote after it passed the Senate last week without a recorded vote, a procedure used for bills to which nobody objects. It now advances to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.

It was a significant victory for lawmakers who have tried for years to remove Confederate statues and other symbols of racism from the Capitol, and an example of how quickly legislation can move through Congress in a bipartisan manner during a so-called lame-duck session after the year’s political campaigns have ended.

The legislation requires the removal of Taney’s bust from the Old Supreme Court Chamber, a room on the Senate side of the Capitol, no later than 45 days after enactment. Capitol officials then have up to two years to obtain a bust of Marshall as a replacement.

In an interview, Cardin said negotiations to remove the bust of Taney had been in the works for months. He credited Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, with carrying the bill through that chamber.

“We’ve been working on this for a long time, but the finish was pretty quick, and that was by design,” Cardin said.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., the chair of the Administration Committee, spoke in favor of the legislation on the House floor.

“Let’s take this opportunity to rid our Capitol of the bust of the man who does not deserve the honor and add one of a man who unquestionably does,” she said, adding, “This is about who we chose to honor, who we chose to literally put on a pedestal.”

Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., said the members of his party had no objection.

“I support removing the bust of Taney and believe statues like his only divide us as a nation,” Davis said.

Maryland state officials took a similar action in 2017 when they removed statue of Taney from a post in front of the State House after Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, called for its removal.




Both justices are native Marylanders.

Marshall, born in Baltimore, led the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, fighting against segregation, before joining the court. He argued the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, which held segregated schools to be unconstitutional.

Born in Calvert County, Maryland, Taney rose to become the fifth chief justice of the Supreme Court, where he wrote the opinion that Black people could not be considered U.S. citizens.

“While the removal of Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney’s bust from the Capitol does not relieve the Congress of the historical wrongs it committed to protect the institution of slavery,” the legislation states, “it expresses Congress’s recognition of one of the most notorious wrongs to have ever taken place in one of its rooms, that of Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney’s Dred Scott v. Sandford decision.”

Cardin said the architect of the Capitol would ultimately decide which statue of Marshall would be selected and where at the Capitol it would reside.

Lawmakers have taken action in recent years to remove Confederate statues and other symbols of racism from the Capitol.

Virginia’s statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was removed from its post in the Capitol in 2020, closing a year that saw Confederate statues toppled as the nation reckoned with racism in its history and institutions. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California has called to remove other statues, markers and monuments to the Confederacy from the Capitol.

But efforts for a wider removal of statues have failed.

The House voted in 2021 and 2020 to remove more than a dozen statues that lawmakers categorize as symbols of the Confederacy or racism, but those bills died in the Senate.

The strategy this year was to focus on removing Taney’s bust first before moving on to other statues in the future, Cardin said.

“I would like to see all the Confederate states removed,” he said. “There’s more work to be done.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.










Today's News

December 16, 2022

A portrait of Rembrandt goes on show. But did he paint it?

Congress set to replace Dred Scott author's statue with Thurgood Marshall

"Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts" comes to The Huntington

More than 200 Guston works are headed to the Met

A six-decade tour of Barbie's Dreamhouses

Hu Qingyan opens an exhibition at Galerie Urs Meile Beijing

Paintbrush in Hand, a Russian muralist wages his own war

Artist or artifice: Who is Adam Himebauch?

Asia Week New York 2023 announces stellar line-up of international gallery exhibitions, auctions and museum shows

Colored diamonds dazzle in Heritage's Holiday Jewelry Auction

Nelson-Atkins hires new Vice President, Development

Fluent in the language of style

Bowdoin College Museum of Art exhibition explores use of language in art

A cyberattack shuts the Met Opera's box office, but the show goes on

Thomas Pynchon, famously private, sells his archive

The 'Twin Peaks' theme isn't just a song. It's a portal.

Around New York, different ways of hearing Handel's 'Messiah'

Gibney dances Ohad Naharin, minus the inner drive

Svigals + Partners debuts University's new Health and Human Services Building

Gillian Brett winner of the villa Noailles Prize of the Emerige Revelations 2022

White glove triumph for Sir Terence Conran's personal collection at Bonhams

1289 Lexington showcases work of Cynthia Karalla, NYC photographic artist

Unveiling the Secrets of VR Porn: A Closer Look

The Evolution of Porn: From Print to Digital Age

The Art of Seductive Conversations: Connecting Beyond the Camera

Breaking Stigmas: Live Sex Cam as a Platform for Empowerment and Expression

The Art & Photography Exhibition of Rey Rey Rodriguez to be Hosted in 2023

9 Motel Management Tips That Will Make You a Better Hotelier

The Current Sports Betting Market In Missouri

Trim Pop Corn - Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC)

How Toronto Corporate Video Production Can Expand Your Business

How The Right Payroll Partner Helps With Workers Compensation Services

Skillset: Improving Your Writing Skills

The Role of Social Media in the Art World




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful