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[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 72 Introduced in House (IH)]

105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 72

Postponing the relocation of the statue known as the Portrait Monument 
                     to the rotunda of the Capitol.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 1, 1997

    Ms. McKinney (for herself, Ms. Carson, Ms. Christian-Green, Mr. 
Hastings of Florida, Mr. Owens, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Dellums, 
   Mr. Conyers, Mr. Clyburn, Mr. Hilliard, Mr. Clay, Mr. Dixon, Mr. 
  Fattah, Mr. Stokes, Mr. Towns, Mr. Flake, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Payne, Mr. 
Davis of Illinois, Mr. Bishop, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Ms. Jackson-Lee 
  of Texas, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Sanders, and Mr. Cummings) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            House Oversight

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
Postponing the relocation of the statue known as the Portrait Monument 
                     to the rotunda of the Capitol.

Whereas the abolition movement was the wellspring of the women's movement which 
        arose out of the work of women speaking out against slavery;
Whereas historians describe 3 major waves of the women's movement as the women's 
        movement from 1848 to 1875, the suffrage movement from 1890 to 1920, and 
        the contemporary movement from 1966 to the present;
Whereas Sojourner Truth was one of the 4 major pioneers and symbols of the first 
        women's movement arising in 1848;
Whereas Sojourner Truth was acknowledged as a sister in the fight for women's 
        rights by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Matilda Joslyn 
        Gage in their History of Woman Suffrage first published in 1881;
Whereas Sojourner Truth is acclaimed as the foremost leader in the first women's 
        rights movement who worked tirelessly for the laboring, working class, 
        black and immigrant women who suffered in the workplace as well as from 
        their political disenfranchisement;
Whereas Sojourner Truth was an impoverished former slave who supported herself 
        by working as a domestic, whose back bore the scars from a savage 
        whipping she received as a child slave, and whose children remained 
        legally and physically separated from her in slavery after her own 
        emancipation, yet she rose above this suffering to become a renowned 
        national leader in the fight against slavery and for human rights, and 
        to provide an inspirational role model for children;
Whereas the effort to raise the Portrait Monument described in House Concurrent 
        Resolution 216, One Hundred Fourth Congress, originated in the effort to 
        recreate and honor on August 19, 1995, a specific historical event, the 
        75th anniversary of the ratification of the nineteenth amendment 
        granting women's suffrage;
Whereas the purpose of placing a statue honoring leaders of the women's movement 
        in place of prominence and esteem is to commemorate for our children and 
        for future generations to come the contributions of all women who worked 
        for equality for women and to serve as a reminder to all Americans of 
        how our right to vote undergrids true equality for all;
Whereas the Portrait Monument as a celebration of the first women's movement is 
        historically inaccurate in its exclusion of Sojourner Truth's pioneering 
        efforts and contributions to the pursuit of equal rights in the first 
        women's movement and in the participation of women of color to the 
        suffrage movement; and
Whereas the Portrait Monument contains an unfinished portion whose significance 
        and meaning has been disputed by some historians and art curators: Now, 
        therefore be it,
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),

SECTION 1. POSTPONING RELOCATION OF PORTRAIT MONUMENT TO ROTUNDA OF THE 
              CAPITOL.

    Effective as of the date on which this concurrent resolution is 
agreed to, sections 1 and 2 of House Concurrent Resolution 216, One 
Hundred Fourth Congress, shall have no force or effect.

SEC. 2. FUNCTIONS AND MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION RESPONSIBLE FOR 
              SELECTING PERMANENT SITE FOR PORTRAIT MONUMENT.

    Section 3 of House Concurrent Resolution 216, One Hundred Fourth 
Congress, shall remain in effect after this concurrent resolution is 
agreed to, except that--
            (1) the membership of the Commission described in such 
        section shall be expanded to include 4 additional private 
        citizens with knowledge of the woman's suffrage movement or the 
        history and role of women in the arts, of whom one shall be 
        selected by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one 
        shall be selected by the Minority Leader of the House of 
        Representatives, one shall be selected by the Majority Leader 
        of the Senate, and one shall be selected by the Minority Leader 
        of the Senate; and
            (2) the Commission described in such section shall complete 
        the functions described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of such 
        section not later than one year after the date on which this 
        concurrent resolution is agreed to.

SEC. 3. RECOGNITION OF THE WOMAN SUFFRAGE STATUE CAMPAIGN AND THE 
              SOJOURNER TRUTH STATUE CRUSADE.

    The Woman Suffrage Statue Campaign and all those individuals and 
groups who supported its work are hereby recognized and congratulated 
for their educational efforts to acknowledge the contributions of 
Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony to women's 
suffrage and the 75th anniversary of the ratification of the nineteenth 
amendment to the Constitution, and the Sojourner Truth Statue Crusade 
and all those individuals and groups who supported its work are hereby 
recognized and congratulated for their educational efforts to 
acknowledge the contributions of Sojourner Truth as well as Lucretia 
Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony to the abolitionist 
and women's movements.
                                 <all>
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