Florida To Replace Confederate Statue In US Capitol

By
News Talk Florida
-
In this undated image made available by the Architect of the Capitol, shows the statue of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith in the U.S. Capitol in Washington,. In 2016 the Florida Legislature passed a bill calling for the removal of Smith’s statue at the U.S. Capitol and put in place a process to replace him. The replacement has been blocked by Republican Rep. Scott Plakon and it appears that a new statue will not happen anytime soon. (Architect of the Capitol via AP)

To be replaced with a statue of Mary McLeod Bethune

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s governor has ordered a statue of a Confederate general at the U.S. Capitol to be removed and replaced with one of an African-American woman.

Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill (SB 472) making that step official Monday.

The bill removes a statue of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith and replaces it with a statue of Mary McLeod Bethune. She founded a school that would eventually become historically black Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Bethune’s statue would be the first African-American woman in Statuary Hall.

Congress allows each state two statues in Statuary Hall. Florida’s other one is of John Gorrie, whose inventions led to modern-day air conditioning.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR