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Frederick Douglass Statue To Grace Capital Rotunda

On Thursday President Obama signed into law H.R. 6336, which directs the congressional Joint Committee on the Library to accept a statue of Frederick Douglass from the District of Columbia for placement in Emancipation Hall in the United States Capitol Visitor Center.


The Douglass statue will take its place in the Capitol with statues from the states, such as Colorado’s statue of Astronaut Jack Swigert, Jr. and Alabama’s statue of Helen Keller. The Joint Committee on the Library has up to two years to complete the move of the Douglass statue from One Judiciary Square to its new home in the Capitol, but Norton is pushing for an early move, complete with a big celebration when the statue arrives, the usual case when states move statues into the Capitol.
 
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said today that she is already at work on plans for a big celebration for the day the District of Columbia’s Frederick Douglass statue comes to the U.S. Capitol, and noted that the President’s decision to issue a statement on signing the bill (H.R. 6336) was unusual for any bill.

“The magnificently done Frederick Douglass statue is larger than life, and so is its move to the Capitol,” Norton said. “Determined to take their rightful place in the Capitol, District residents selected and the D.C. government commissioned the Douglass statue six years ago.

With the Douglass statue, the District of Columbia goes into the Capitol alongside the 50 states, signifying our insistence on the equal treatment with the states that we seek.

Remarked White House Spokesman, Kevin S. Lewis, "Abolitionist Frederick Douglass will be placed in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center. Frederick Douglass, once a slave, rose up to become one of our nation’s great reformers in his fight for equality and an advisor to President Lincoln. His life is a testament to the American spirit and an inspiration to so many. His statue at the Capitol, representing the District of Columbia, will add to the long legacy of dynamic African Americans who have displayed extraordinary leadership throughout history.”

The Douglass statue will join the Sojourner Truth statue which was inducted in 2009.


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Frederick Douglass quotes:
"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."
"If there is no struggle, there is no progress."
"I am a Republican, a black, dyed in the wool Republican, and I never intend to belong to any other party than the party of freedom and progress."

 

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