US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Wednesday for the US Capitol’s removal of 11 statues of Confederate soldiers or officials, the latest anti-racism effort after a black man’s death in police custody sparked mass protests.
“Monuments to men who advocated cruelty and barbarism to achieve such a plainly racist end are a grotesque affront to these ideals” of American democracy and freedom, the top Democrat in Congress wrote to a bipartisan committee.
“Their statues pay homage to hate, not heritage,” Pelosi added. “They must be removed.”
