Congressman Cohen Votes to Remove Confederate Statues from the U.S. Capitol
Charles Brantley Aycock, John Caldwell Calhoun and James Paul Clarke were notorious for white supremacist views
MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today voted to remove statues honoring former officials of the Confederate States of America who fought against the United States of America in the Civil War from the U.S. Capitol. Congressman Cohen has been a leader in the effort to remove the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and founder of the Ku Klux Klan, from the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville.
The vote on passage was 285 to 120.
After the vote today, Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
"Honoring those who rebelled against our country in the citadel of democracy is offensive and it is time we end the practice. These statues, many placed in this hallowed ground during the Jim Crow era, are a daily affront to those who know American history, and particularly to African Americans. We are not erasing history with this action, as some critics will claim; we are finally ending the indignity of venerating traitors."