Norton Introduces Andrew Jackson Statue Removal Act as Part of Her Black History Month Bill Series

Press Release

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today reintroduced legislation to remove the Andrew Jackson statue from Lafayette Park in the District of Columbia, a federal park, citing Jackson's ownership of slaves and genocide against Native Americans. This bill is the fourth in a series of statue and memorial removal bills Norton has introduced as part of her Black History Month series.

"Today, I introduced my bill to remove this statue of an unabashed racist from Lafayette Park," Norton said. "Lafayette Park itself has a painful past as a slave market. The statue of Andrew Jackson, who himself enslaved African Americans, compounds that insult. This prominent location in the nation's capital, right outside of the White House, should never have honored a man who owned slaves and was responsible for the deaths of roughly 4,000 Native Americans. Jackson's entire tenure is a shameful part of our history, and I will see to it that he is no longer honored with a statue in Lafayette Park. I believe this statue should be preserved and placed in a museum, not displayed prominently in the nation's capital. The next generation can learn from this painful chapter in our history without celebrating it."

The land that comprises Lafayette Park has been used as a racetrack, a showplace for caged animals, a graveyard, a slave market, an encampment for soldiers and for political protests and celebrations. Jackson was a slaveholder and signed a law that forced Native Americans to move west of the Mississippi River. During this forced expulsion by the federal government, roughly 4,000 Cherokees died in what is now known as the Trail of Tears. The statue, the first in Lafayette Park, was dedicated on January 8, 1853, on the 38th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, which the statue depicts.

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