Confederate portraits removed for Juneteenth

U.S. House Speaker Pelosi orders removal of paintings in Capitol building

WASHINGTON— Portraits of four former House speakers who served in the Confederacy were permanently removed from the Capitol by Speaker Nancy Pelosi in time for yesterday’s Juneteenth.

“As I have said before, the halls of Congress are the very heart of our democracy. There is no room in the hallowed halls of Congress or in any place of honour for memorializing men who embody the violent bigotry and grotesque racism of the Confederacy,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to House Clerk Cheryl Johnson on Thursday.

Portraits of Robert Hunter of Virginia, Howell Cobb of Georgia, James Orr of

South Carolina and Charles Crisp of Georgia were all removed on Thursday.

In her letter, Pelosi described the removal of the portraits as a way to “appropriately observe Juneteenth this year.” Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed the Black population there of the Emancipation Proclamation.

“The portraits of these men are symbols that set back our nation’s work to confront and combat bigotry,” wrote Pelosi. “Our congressional community has the sacred opportunity and obligation to make meaningful change to ensure that the halls of Congress reflect our highest ideals as Americans. Let us lead by example.”

Confederates are not the first to have their portraits removed from the Capitol. In 2015, then-speaker Paul Ryan removed former speaker Dennis Hastert’s portrait from the Speaker’s Lobby after the Illinois Republican pleaded guilty to a hush money scheme covering up sexual misconduct.

There are also discussions on Capitol Hill and at the Defence Department about renaming military bases that honour Confederates. President Donald

Trump has said he would not consider renaming any military bases that derive from Confederate figures. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters on Tuesday that he is open to the changes, noting as an aside that he is descended from a Confederate veteran.

CHIP SOMODEVILLA GETTY IMAGES Staff remove a portrait of former speaker of the House Robert Hunter of Virginia (1839-1841), who was a Confederate official, from the Speaker’s Lobby.