Thursday afternoon, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) ordered the removal of four confederacy portraits in the capitol.
This move came just days short of Pelosi's last push to remove confederate statues from the capitol complex; Pelosi tried to push for the removal of 11 statues that move was shot down by conservative senators, however, Pelosi did achieve the act of removing the portraits from the halls of the capitol.
"We didn't know about this until we were taking inventory of the statues and the curator told us that there were four paintings of Speakers in the Capitol of the United States, four Speakers who had served in the Confederacy," --Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol
Pelosi requested the "immediate removal" of these four Speakers who served the Confederacy: Robert Hunter (Virginia), James Orr (South Carolina), Howell Cobb (Georgia), and Charles Crisp (Georgia).
In a letter to house clerk, Cheryl Johnson. Nancy said this;
"Our Congressional community has the sacred opportunity and obligation to make meaningful change to ensure that the halls of Congress reflect our highest ideals as Americans. Let us lead by example,"
Pelosi noted that the removal of the portraits on the eve of Juneteenth on Friday, a day that marks the end of the legal slavery in America. Adding to the growing efforts across the nation to remove Confederate figures. This outburst came after George Floyd was killed by a white cop when the officer knelt on George's neck for more than 8 minutes.
"Very sadly, this day comes during a moment of extraordinary national anguish, as we grieve for the hundreds of Black Americans killed by racial injustice and police brutality, including George Floyd, Breanna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and so many others," Pelosi wrote.
The figures from the portrait removal held high positions in the Confederacy; Hunter served as the confederacy's secretary of state in his early days before serving as a senator. Orr served as a senator for the confederacy. Cobb served as president of the provisional congress to the confederacy. while Crisp served as a soldier in the Confederacy army.
