House votes to remove Confederate statues from Capitol

A statue of Alexander Hamilton Stephens in the U.S. Capitol.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The House voted 305 to 113 on Wednesday evening to remove statues of Confederate figures from the Capitol, with bill co-sponsor Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) saying it is "past time that we end the glorification of men who committed treason against the United States in a concerted effort to keep African Americans in chains."

The vote comes after weeks of anti-racism protests, sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in late May. The legislation mandates the removal of "all statues of individuals who voluntarily served" the Confederacy, specifically those of John C. Calhoun of South Carolina; John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky; Charles Brantley Aycock of North Carolina; and James Paul Clarke of Arkansas.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.