Norton to Lead Tour of House Floor and Statues of African Americans in the Capitol for D.C. Residents and Urges Residents to Sign Up for Tours

WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and her staff today, beginning at 10:00 a.m., will lead a tour of the floor of the House of Representatives, of statues of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks in Statuary Hall, and of D.C.'s Frederick Douglass statue and the Sojourner Truth statue in Emancipation Hall. These are the only four statues or busts in the Capitol that honor African Americans. Over 30 D.C. residents will be on the tour, including 25 students and staff from Options Public Charter School, and 10 girls from Girl Scout Troop 5937. A focal point of the tour will be the gathering of residents on the House floor. The press is invited to the tour of the statues, but cannot accompany the tour to the House floor.

"The purpose of my tours of the House floor is to allow D.C. residents to experience the place where Congress conducts the business of the nation," said Norton. "Congress also continues to meddle in the business of the District, and that is an important lesson for D.C. residents and schoolchildren to learn."

Prior to the statue viewing, residents will go to the House floor, where Norton will speak about her legislation that brought D.C.'s Frederick Douglass statue to the Capitol after years of rebuffs by opponents of D.C. statehood. Residents will then arrive at Statuary Hall in the Capitol Building and will tour the Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. statues. Then, the tour will move to Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center to view D.C.'s Frederick Douglass statue and the Sojourner Truth statue.

Norton kicked off the first of regular House floor and statue viewing tours in February to commemorate Black History Month. Tours are now held on a regular basis for D.C. public, charter and private schools, as well as citizen groups and clubs. For more information and to sign up for a tour, call Norton's district office at (202) 408-9041.

Last year, Norton got her bill passed that treats D.C. like the 50 states by bringing a statue of Frederick Douglass representing the District to the Capitol. D.C. is now the only jurisdiction that is not yet a state to have a statue there, along with the 50 states. House and Senate Republican and Democratic leadership sponsored the unveiling of D.C.'s Douglass statue, with Vice President Joe Biden and members of the Douglass family joining Norton and others to speak at the ceremony. Douglass was known as an abolitionist and an international human rights icon, but he also served in D.C. posts and was a champion for equal citizenship for D.C. residents.

Published: May 2, 2014