House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a distinction Thursday between knocking down statues of Confederate leaders and those of former American presidents who owned slaves.
Pelosi has spearheaded an effort to tear down 11 statues on the Capitol of Confederate leaders, but was stopped Thursday for rejecting the statues of President Thomas Jefferson and President George Washington, whom some activists say should no longer be consecrated as they were enslaved people owners.
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“It is not about Washington and Jefferson, it is about Alexander Stephens,” Pelosi said at a Capitol press conference.
Among the 11 statues Pelosi wants to banish from the Capitol are Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens, the former president and vice president of the Confederate states who were accused of treason against the United States. He also directed the removal of paintings from four previous House speakers who served in the Confederacy.
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Amid protests after the death of George Floyd and national recognition of symbols of racist ideals, Pelosi suggested that not all statues are the same and that it is specifically directed against those representing violent Confederation intolerance.
“I think if people have committed treason against the United States of America, their statue shouldn’t be on Capitol Hill,” Pelosi said.
Former Vice President Joe Biden also distinguished between statues honoring the Confederation for Slavery and other historical figures who have fallen out of favor. At a press conference Tuesday, Biden said the federal government has an obligation to protect certain monuments, such as Washington and Jefferson.
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“The idea of comparing whether George Washington had slaves or Thomas Jefferson had slaves, and someone who was in rebellion committing treason trying to bring down a union to maintain slavery, I think there is a distinction there,” Biden said.
