Story at a glance
- A new bill calls for the removal of the bust of former Supreme Court Justice Roger Brooke Taney.
- Taney handed down the influential decision in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case, ruling that Black Americans are not to be recognized as legal U.S. citizens.
- This is the latest chapter in the larger countrywide push to remove monuments associated with white supremacy.
On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed new legislation that would replace the bust of a controversial Supreme Court justice with a bust of Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court justice.
The bust up for replacement is that of Justice Roger Brooke Taney, whose likeness currently resides in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the United States Capitol. Taney is most known for his decision in the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision made in March 1857, which ruled that African Americans were not citizens of the United States and could not sue in federal courts.
This legal decision also declared that Congress didn’t have the power to outlaw slavery in its territories.
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Removing Taney’s bust comes as the U.S. still reckons with its legacy of legalized slavery. Following the Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020, activists called for dozens of statues and monuments associated with slavery and racial oppression to be removed.
“While the removal of Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney’s bust from the United States 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, that of Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney’s Dred Scott v. Sandford decision,” the bill’s text reads.
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The bill, H.R.3005, was introduced by Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer (D), and further calls for Taney’s bust to be removed within 45 days of the bill’s passage. Marshall’s would be required to be added within two years of the bill’s ratification.
It passed through the U.S. House in a 285-120 roll call vote. On Twitter, Hoyer touted the bipartisan support the bill garnered. All House Democrats voted in favor of the bill, with 67 Republicans following suit.
I was proud to join my colleagues in voting to #RemoveHate from the Capitol today. Today’s vote was a vote to uphold the principles of equality and justice that our nation was founded on. Hate, racism, & bigotry have no place here. pic.twitter.com/FOB5YOuKYU
— Steny Hoyer (@LeaderHoyer) June 29, 2021
H.R.3005 also contains an additional section that would further remove all statues and busts associated with the Confederate Army and government established during the Civil War from the U.S. Capitol. This includes the statues of Charles Brantley Aycock, John Caldwell Calhoun and James Paul Clarke — all of whom broadly opposed equal rights for African Americans.
Other legislation has proposed similar monument removals, including H.R.1248, titled the Confederate Monument Removal Act, introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.)
Lee cosponsored Hoyer’s H.R.3005.
H.R.3005 now heads to the Senate for further approval.
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