WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL) released the following statement and information regarding statue replacements at the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall.

“Each state has two iconic statues in the U.S. Capitol of influential individuals that symbolize the state. It has troubled me since I was elected to Congress that one of Florida’s statues is an obscure confederate war general who didn’t live in Florida beyond his childhood. Florida has so much more to offer when it comes to individuals who shaped our state and made an important contribution to America. 

“In addition to the current wave of interest in reviewing and replacing flags and symbols after the racist-motivated shooting in Charleston, a similar wave of U.S. Capitol state statue replacements has occurred over the past decade. For instance, in 2009, Alabama replaced Confederate Colonel Jabez Curry with Helen Keller and California replaced Thomas Starr King with Ronald Reagan. Below are more examples of replacements that followed.

“Florida should seize the opportunity to place a statue in the U.S. Capitol of a great Floridian who represents the essence of the Sunshine State like Mary McLeod Bethune or Marjorie Stoneman Douglas. It is time to consider a female representative from Florida as well.”

Michigan – Replaced Zachariah Chandler with Gerald Ford (2011)

Iowa – Replaced James Harlan with Norman Borlaug (2014)

Arizona – Replaced John Campbell Greenway with Barry Goldwater (2015)

Kansas – Replaced George Glick with Dwight D. Eisenhower (2003)

(Kansas has plans to replace John James Ingalls with Amelia Earhart)

Ohio – Currently replacing William Allen with Thomas Edison

###