The Art and Politics of the U.S. Capitol Building

The Takeaway | Aug 24, 2017

Click on the 'Listen' button above to hear this interview.

Since 1864, every state has donated two statues of historic importance to be placed in the U.S. Capitol building as part of the National Statuary Hall Collection.

Of the 100 statues in the collection, there are zero African Americans, and 12 Confederate statues. Throughout the entire Capitol, there are only four statues of African Americans. The first one, a bust of Martin Luther King Jr, was added in 1986. The other three were not added until the Obama presidency.

Yesterday, we looked at how Confederate statues proliferated in the South in the early 20th century, and today, Vivien Green Fryd, a professor at Vanderbilt University and the author of "Art and Empire: The Politics of Ethnicity in the United States Capitol, 1815-1865," discusses how the same phenomenon is present even in the U.S. Capitol building.

Check out a video about Confederate statues below.

This segment is hosted by Indira Lakshmanan.

WNYC is funded by sponsors and member donations

WNYC Homepage - Top Stories

Why single domestic violence survivors can't get shelter in NYC despite empty beds

More than half the callers to the city’s domestic violence hotline are single people, but few are getting shelter.

Gothamist |

The History Wars and America at 250, with the Historian Jill Lepore

Three prominent historians discuss a national milestone arriving in the midst of a politically charged conflict over how Americans see the past. It’s a “goat rodeo,” Lepore says.

The New Yorker Radio Hour |

What Péter Magyar's Election in Hungary Says About 'Strongmen' Today

Andrew Marantz talks about the new prime minister of Hungary, and OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman.

The Brian Lehrer Show |

Mayor Mamdani says he's balanced NYC's budget

WNYC News |

How they handle crises in Brownsville, often without police

At least twice a year, nonprofit workers from the neighborhood spend a week calming disputes and responding to most 311 and 911 calls on certain blocks in the neighborhood.