House votes to remove Confederate statues from Capitol
22 July 2020
The House voted 305-113 on Wednesday to remove Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol building.
Why it matters: The bipartisan vote comes amid a broader national movement to eliminate symbols of racism and oppression that has led to the removal of Confederate statues across the country.
Details: Wednesday's bill would require states to reclaim and replace statues given to the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall that depict Americans who defended the Confederacy, slavery or white supremacy.
- At least 11 statues of Confederate leaders and generals are currently in that collection, including a monument of Alexander Hamilton Stephens, vice president of the Confederacy.
- The billwould also replace a bust of former Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, who authored the Dred Scott decision in 1857, stating that Black Americans could not be U.S. citizens.
- A statue of Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court justice, would replace Taney's bust, which is inside the Old Supreme Court Chamber.
What they're saying: "My ancestors built the Capitol, but yet there are monuments to the very people that enslaved my ancestors," Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), said Wednesday, according to CNN.
What's next: It is unclear whether the GOP-controlled Senate will take up the bill. Republicans have previously blocked similar legislation in the Senate.
- It is also unknown how President Trump will react to the legislation. He has criticized efforts from Congress and the Pentagon to remove Confederate imagery and namesakes from military installations.
Go deeper: Trump says he's not offended by the Confederate flag
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.