The U.S. House of Representatives will vote next week on removing statues from the Capitol of those who served in the Confederacy or who otherwise supported slavery, The Hill reports.
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., along with five members of the Congressional Black Caucus, announced Monday the bill would be voted on July 22.
"It is reprehensible that individuals who did so much to divide our country and dehumanize African Americans are honored in the halls of Congress," Hoyer said. "I hope all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join us in supporting this bill to right historical wrongs and ensure that the only people honored with busts and statues in the Capitol are those whose actions furthered the causes of liberty, unity, and equal rights."
There are currently 11 Confederate statues on display in the Capitol. There also are statues and busts of Roger Taney, the former Supreme Court chief justice who wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision that Black people should not have the rights of citizens; former North Carolina Gov. Charles Aycock; former Vice President and member of Congress John Calhoun, a defender of slavery; and former Arkansas Gov. and Sen. James Paul Clarke, an advocate of white supremacy.
The bill incorporates a previous bill Hoyer introduced in March that would replace the bust of Taney that is in the old Supreme Court chamber on the Senate side of the Capitol with one of Thurgood Marshall, who was the first Black Supreme Court justice.
The 11 statues include Confederate Army Commander Robert E. Lee and President Jefferson Davis. Each state contributes two statues to the National Statuary Hall collection, but congressional leaders have final say on where the statues can be on display.
Hoyer also said the House will vote next week on several spending bills that will include language to remove Confederate monuments from federal property.
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