Political Quotes

“I rise today to discuss a bill that would bring a statue depicting Fredrick Douglass to our Nation's Capitol. The life and deeds of this great American need no introduction. He escaped the shackles of slavery to become a leading writer, orator, publisher, and a leader in the abolitionist struggle towards equality for all. I am proud that Fredrick Douglass called Rochester, NY home for 25 years. But others claim him as well. He was born into slavery in Maryland, and lived as a free adult in Massachusetts and, at the end of his life, in Washington, DC. He died here in the Nation's Capitol and is buried in upstate New York. During his time in Rochester, he published the leading African American newspaper in the country. His influential best-selling autobiography, ``Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,'' served as a rallying cry for the abolitionist movement and helped bring an end to that cruel institution. It is therefore fitting that this Fredrick Douglass statue should find its home in the Capitol. The addition of this statue of Frederick Douglass to our Capitol is long overdue. It is important that the Americans depicted in portraiture and in sculpture in the Capitol reflect the true heritage of our nation and the people who have helped to make it great. Today too few of our artworks depict the richness and diversity of great Americans. In fact, of more than 180 statues and busts in the Capitol, only two are of African Americans.…”