The Commission for Historical Statues in the United States Capitol
The Commission for Historical Statues in the United States Capitol is charged with determining whether the Robert E. Lee statue in the National Statuary Hall Collection at the United States Capitol should be replaced (which it did recommend) and to recommend to the General Assembly as a replacement a statue of a prominent Virginia citizen of historic renown or renowned for distinguished civil or military service to be commemorated in the National Statuary Hall Collection.
The Commission consists of eight members appointed as follows: one member of the House of Delegates appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates; one member of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; two non-legislative citizen members who are Virginia or American historians appointed by the Governor; three non-legislative citizen members appointed upon the vote of the Commission members appointed by the Speaker, the Senate Committee on Rules, and the Governor; and the Director of the Department of Historic Resources (DHR), who serves ex officio with nonvoting privileges. The Department of Historic Resources will provide staff support to the Commission.
The Commission will also be required to (i) select a sculptor for the new statue, with preference given to a sculptor from Virginia; (ii) estimate the costs associated with the replacement of the Robert E. Lee statue, including costs related to construction and placement of the new statue, for the removal and transfer of the Robert E. Lee statue, and for any unveiling ceremony of the new statue; and (iii) recommend to the General Assembly a suitable state, local, or private nonprofit history museum in the Commonwealth for placement of the Robert E. Lee statue.
The bill requires the Commission to hold at least one public hearing prior to making any recommendation to the General Assembly on a new statue and requires the costs of the Commission’s work to be borne by the Commission from such private funds as are collected by the Commission and general funds as are appropriated by the General Assembly.
Comments or questions about the Commission’s work can be submitted to USCapitolCommission@dhr.virginia.gov.
There are no scheduled meetings of the Commission at this time.
Past Meetings:
- Meeting: June 18, 2025:
- Meeting: February 24, 2024
- Meeting: March 30, 2023
- Agenda [docx]
- Meeting Minutes Draft [docx]
- Meeting PowerPoint [pptx]
- Recording of the meeting Recording password: DcFXcmc2 Or, copy and paste the following link to your browser and access the recording using the password DcFXcmc2 https://covaconf.webex.com/recordingservice/sites/covaconf/recording/playback/5420d04db146103bbfee00505681e531
- Meeting: January 4, 2023
- Meeting: July 21, 2022
- Draft agenda
- Meeting Minutes Draft [docx]
- March 21, 2021 Governor Letter [pdf]
- OAC approval of the request to place a statue of Barbara Rose Johns in the National Statuary Hall [pdf]
- REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS #1262 FOR Design, Creation, and Installation of the Barbara Johns Statue on behalf of the Virginia Commission of Historical Statues in the United States Capitol [docx]
- Tool Kit for Commissioning a Replacement Statue for the National Statuary Hall Collection [docx]
- Interim Activity of the Commission for Historical Statues in the US Capitol [pdf] (Date of Report: June 17, 2022)
- Meeting: March 3, 2021
- Meeting: December 16, 2020
The Commission convened on Dec. 16 and approved a motion to recommend a statue of Barbara Rose Johns for the U.S. Capitol. View a screen video recording of the virtual meeting. Password: 3CrRFUJE
- Draft minutes of Dec. 16 meeting
- Agenda for Dec. 16
- List of names submitted for a replacement statue in the U.S. Capitol
- Profiles of Five Finalists Selected:
- Letter and emails received prior to the meeting (posted Dec. 15, evening)
- Town Council of Farmville: Letter and Resolution of Support for statue of Barbara Rose Johns
- Compiled Emails to the Commission
Emails Posted After December 16 meeting:
- Meeting: Nov. 17, 2020
- Video recording of Nov. 17 meeting. Password to access recording: nE3uGWNn
Public Comments Submitted in Advance of Nov. 17 Meeting:
- Gerald Pops email
- Emails posted week of Oct 19
- Emails posted Oct. 29
- Emails posted week of Nov 1
- Unsigned letter
- W. Berry Letter
- BWT Letter
- C. Peaks Letter
- Maj. W. E. Boiselle Letter
- N. P. Edmunds Letter
- R. C. Edmunds Letter
- Emails posted week of Nov. 9
- Emails posted week of Nov. 9 (second batch)
- Marsh attachment — bio of Oliver Hill Sr.
- Janoschka Letter
- Emails posted Nov. 16
- D. Roll Statement to Commission
- Marshall Johnson Letter
- Munson Letter
Public Comments Submitted After Nov. 17 Meeting:
- Emails Posted Nov. 17, After the Meeting
- D. Newcomb statement
- Suggestions from Orchard School
- Second Batch of Emails Posted Nov. 17
- Rohrbach Letter
- Emails Compiled Nov. 19
- T. Ward Statement
- Park Nomination Form
- Coleman Nomination Form
- Borek Nomination
- Emails Posted Nov. 20
- Emails Posted Nov. 24
- Cameron Patterson_Letter
- Jose_Mendoza_Guevara_letter
- Nithin_Srinivas_Gopinath_nomination
- Sirichandana_Yakkala_nomination
- Emails Posted Nov. 30
- Barr Nomination Form
- Clary Revised Nomination [Corrected version posted Jan. 19, 2021]
- E. Rice Nomination for Oliver Hill
- Hopkins Nomination for Oliver Hill
- John Mercer Langston Bio (Attachment)
- Pocahontas Support Binder (Attachment)
- Thomas Attachment: Moton Essay
- Thomas Attachment: Petition for Moton
- Morris Letter
- Email Posted Dec. 3
- Emails Posted Dec. 8
Article and Op-Ed of Note from the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
From Dave Grohl to Edna Lewis, Virginians suggest replacements for Lee statue at U.S. Capitol (Nov. 25)
Williams: Barbara Johns deserves a statue in the U.S. Capitol. (Nov. 27)
Meeting: October 8, 2020:
- Video recording of the Oct. 8 meeting
- Final Agenda [pdf] for Oct. 8 meeting.
- PowerPoint presented at meeting [pptx]
- Proposed Process for Selecting Subject of Replacement Statue [pdf](discussed during meeting)
Public Documents Submitted in Advance of October 8 Meeting:
- Meeting: August 7, 2020:
- Video recording of the August 7 meeting, which convened remotely due to the pandemic. Note to access the recording, please use this password: bAiZW2y9
- PowerPoint presented at the Aug. 7 meeting. [pptx]
- Agenda for August 7 Meeting [pdf]
- Interim Activity of the Commission for Historical Statues in the U.S. Capitol [pdf] (Date of Report: July 27, 2020)
Public comment received [pdf] (E-mails, with attachments posted Aug. 6)
During the August 7 meeting, the Commission recommended asking the Virginia Museum of History and Culture (VMHC) to accept the R. E. Lee statue for its collections.
- The Commission’s letter of Aug. 14, 2020, to the VMHC’s President [pdf]
- VMHC President Jamie Bosket’s letter of Aug. 18, 2020 [pdf], accepting the Commission’s request.
- Meeting: July 24, 2020:
- Video recording (1 hour, 11 minutes) of the July 24 meeting of the Commission. Note to access the recording, please use this password: rBmAP7DX
- PowerPoint presented by DHR Director Julie V. Langan at the July 24 meeting [pptx].
- Emailed public comments [pdf] the Commission received in support and opposition to the removal of the R. E. Lee statue.
Meeting: July 1, 2020:
See “Links” below for more information.
Commission Members
- Dr. Edward Ayers, Professor of New American History, University of Richmond, (Charlottesville)
- Dr. Colita Fairfax, Professor & Honors College Senior Faculty Fellow, Norfolk State University, (Hampton)
- Senator Louise Lucas, 18th District, (Portsmouth)
- Dr. Fred Motley, (Danville)
- Anne Richardson, Chief of the Rappahannock, (Indian Neck)
- Margaret Vanderhye, (McLean)
- Delegate Jeion Ward, 92nd District, (Hampton)
- Julie Langan, Director, Dept. of Historic Resources, ex-officio
2020 Meetings’ Minutes
- Dec. 16: Approved Minutes [pdf]
- Nov. 17: Approved Minutes [pdf]
- Oct. 8: Approved Minutes [pdf]
- Aug. 7: Approved Minutes [pdf]
- July 24: Approved Minutes [pdf]
- July 1: Approved Minutes [pdf]
*NOTE: Minutes posted shortly after each meeting are not official (as indicated by the word “DRAFT” at the top of the first page). Official minutes will not be posted until they are approved by the Commission at the next meeting. Once approved by the Commission, the draft minutes will be removed from the website and the official minutes will be posted (as indicated by the removal of the word “DRAFT”).
Important Links:
- Architect of the Capitol’s Letter of Approval for Maquette of Barbara Rose Johns, July 28, 2023 [pdf]
- Media Coverage Announcing Approval of Barbara Rose Johns Maquette:
– “Preliminary Model of Virginia’s Barbara Rose Johns Statue for U.S. Capitol Approved” (DHR)
– “Virginia’s tribute to Barbara Johns a step closer to Statuary Hall” (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
– “Barbara Rose Johns Statue Gets Prelim Approval, Moves Forward” (The Farmville Herald) - Gov. Northam’s Letter of July 31, 2020, to the Architect of the U.S. Capitol request removal of Lee statue [pdf]
- HB 1406 Historical Statues in the United States Capitol, Commission for; removal of Robert E. Lee statue.
- HB 1406 [docx]
- Memo on History of Lee Statue in Statuary Hall [pdf]
- Procedure and Guidelines for Replacement of Statues in the National Statuary Hall [pdf]
- Statuary Hall, United States Capitol
