The bust of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, who authored the court's Dred Scott decision, will be removed from the Capitol Building and replaced with one of Thurgood Marshall, the country's first Black Supreme Court justice, after President Joe Biden signed a bill on Tuesday ordering the move, The Hill reported.
Taney wrote the Supreme Court's 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, which stated that Blacks could not sue in federal court because they were not citizens and ruled the Missouri Constitution unconstitutional, declaring that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories.
The legislation, which was passed by Congress earlier this month, stated that the Taney bust is "unsuitable for the honor of display to the many visitors to the Capitol," NPR reported.
The statue of Taney is located in the entrance of the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the Capitol, where the Supreme Court met from 1810 until 1860.
The legislation stated that "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, it expresses Congress's recognition of one of the most notorious wrongs to have ever taken place in one of its rooms."
The bill stipulates that the bust of Marshall, who was known for his civil rights work, will be installed in the Capitol or on the Capitol grounds.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stated upon passage of the bill that “as a fellow Baltimore native, I am particularly proud that Justice Marshall, a deeply admired jurist and a trailblazing champion of civil rights, will soon take his place amid the Capitol's pantheon of great American patriots,” The Hill reported.
After signing the bill, Biden left for a vacation in the Virgin Islands.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.