By congress to encourage in the most comprehensive and enlightened manner an understanding by the american of the significance of, the capitol, as the tangible symbol of their representative of government. And we celebrate the capitol every day before we get started with todays program,immediate r congressman ron harrison, who served the third president of the society000 through 2018. Rons tenure was characterized by strength in the face challenges, growth in that we serve the american people. So join me for a moment of silence. Thank you. Our full tribute to ron can be viewed on our weby a very a very special person. Among the greatest arcs of American History is the continual effort to expand who is included in the people. In the early of the republic, only land experiment. But they a document that stands to this day the ratification of the 15th amendment expanded, the franchise to africanamerican men. It still took a little work to make that real. The 19th amendment brought women intofrances of illinois, joinede collection at National Hall the capitol sculptures depicted only men and capital art was mainly men, allegorical women. With the exception of pocahontas, the of freedom, which stands the building is perhaps the most famous. And each of our speakers will take a replica. The statue of freedom, made from marble from the capitol as our thank you. Serving in public is extremely challenging and rewarding and so i want to tell you that we are going to start with our senator because shes got to run two votes and then shes finished. Im going to introduce the house members and introduce the whole crew of them, and then theyre going to pass mic one to another deal. Okay. Senator lummis operates her Laramie County with her brother and sister. Shes a three time graduate of the university of wyoming and Animal Science biology and law. She was first elected to the United States house in 2008. And quickly earned her reputation as a no nonsense conservative and a principled policymaker. Shes a Founding Member of, the House Freedom caucus and dedicated champion of wyomings mineral and energy resources. As the chair of the western, she made it her business to explain to eastern lawmakers just how invasive the federal government is in the lives and business of westerners. Led the bipartisan effort to pass the National Forest system stewardship in 2018, which overf trails within National Forest. Her distinguish career in Public Service as a member of the wyoming her today to represent wyoming in the United States senate. Senator lummis. Thank you so much and thank you for taking the reins of this Great Organization and for preserving the history of this great nation in this great capital. Were really grateful to, all of you who are involved. Thanks so im excited to go first because wyoming was, the first government in the world to continuously grant or vote. When wyoming was still territory, its territorial recognize its womens right to and memorialized it into law in 1869. A full. 55 zero years before the 19th amendment to the United States constitution. So a woman named louisa the vere in a government continue recognizing womens right to vote. She voted in laramie, wyoming on september 6th of 1870. Now was followedup, women who not only were leaders in early wyoming government, but also who were involved in the National Movement to recognize womens right to vote. One of those women, Esther Hobart morris, is recognized, raised in a statue in this great building. Our other statue byshoshone, ans so beloved in wyoming. A shoshone tribe. And a Great American man himself. So its so proud. Im so proud to be here. Represent bothcommunity and the. Wyoming, as acknowledge the women who are recognized by statute in building. Okay. So louisa swain was first and then about 15 minutes after louisa swain voted, there was a second woman who voted in cheyenne, and it was kind of a race to the ballot because. They knew that they were going to recognized or memorialized forever. So louisa swain wasnt, who grew up in the east. She was. And she found some relatives that helped raise. Met a nice man. Married and moved it to laramie, wyoming. She was a quaker. And in in laramie, the women decided that because they kind of knew this woman going to be an important in history they wanted to someone who was very up stand being in the community and would represent women well for rest of history. So they chose louisa swain and. She had a bucket of lard on her way to the Grocery Store and she stopped to vote and memorial rights that vote she so we a Federal Building after her in cheyenne wyoming my hometown we did this just last and its the first Federal Building in the whole region thats named after a woman. So were finally getting around to recognizing our own history. Something thats true about easterners is you really are much better about recognizing your in history our history is so recent that we forget its truly historical figures in their own right. But they were old when i met him. You know, sitting and, you know, you think about chiefs sitting bull and his his grandson. I were very dear friends. So we the know, and im so proud to be from a state recognizes women and indians and that our not terribly diverse population is proud of that as well. So heres a little more about chance move to South Pass City in a fray fe and she made history in 1870 when she was appointed justice of the peace for south past city. Upon her appointment, the youngd one of the richest territories in United States gave equal rights to women in action as well as words. So theres a lovely statue of her in this great Capitol Building and she went on to be the Vice President of the National American womens suffrage association. And so she fought for every womans right to vote for the rest of her time. So we had the first man excusing first women delegates to the and republican national. We had the first woman governor, the first woman statewide official, and this early history, this fabulous history of recognizing women. And then, you know, once 19th amendment passed, we started taking it for granted. And we werent effective in step up and lead. But were catching back. And thanks people like Esther Hobart, maurice, we have that opportunity. You know, i i im going to introduce your next speaker, if thats okay, because i to go off and vote. But i served with you. Yeah, were doing debbie, right . Were going to do more. Laurel, the next speaker. It is. Its going to be hard. I just met laurel. Okay, no problem. You can Say Something nice. I am going to say nice about debbie. Okay. And so Debbie Wasserman schultz was a member of the u. S. House when i came to the u. S. House. My very congressional delegation trip was led by Debbie Wasserman schultz, and we went to israel we went to egypt. We went to turkey. And i learned so much from Wasserman Schultz about, the middle east, about israel, specifically and its a trip ill never and it was the quintessential. American delegation we had jewish people, christian people. We had mormons we had baptists, we had lutherans, we had democrats, we had a but e ameris trip. And it was part of it was just because of the sheer strength of this woman who led that trip, debbie yeah. And and these women, im very proud i got to serve with. So for carrying on in the u. S. House and was a pleasure to serve with you you. Thank you. And one day youll be able to say all these nice things about congresswoman laurel lee because i will tell you that congresswoman has a unique connection to hall. I met her when she was secretary of state in to statuary hall. And i know that got a place to go. So im just going to give one sentence about her and she identifies herself this her first term in congress. But she comes with a strong background and has been recognized forn and security and a national expert. Us. Thank you so much. It is truly an honor to get to be here and to celebrate the good, the great women of statuary hall. It is truly a privilege me to get to mention one of floridas statues in statuary hall, who is . The great dr. Mary Mcleod Bethune. While i floridas secretary of state. I had the privilege of being involved in the statue itself the creation the getting it here and some of the celebrate and honor of her tremendous legacy. She was an influential educator, civil rights leaderwomens righs rights and education. She truly is an example of the very best of what we have to offer as floridians a source of such tremendous pride for all of us who come here, see the great leaders of our country and of our state. I also want to say what a privilege it is to be here with the senior members of my delegation. It is so true that while we may not all vote the same way or hold the same views. There are more important things that unite us and a connection that we have to celebrate the great women of our state and celebrate each other ialways tod to see the members of my delegation who been such leaders in our and have done such important things, our communities over the years. So i thank you for including me in the celebration tonight and look forward to working with you all as go forward. Welcome to congress. And now were going to have fabulous women. One from florida. You know, if youre following program, remember that, you know, humans plan, god laughs. G to say. I was going to you that our leadoff hitter tonight was going to be congresswoman debbie. Wasserman schultz who is a trailblazer for sure. He youngest elected to the florida house. Woman ever elected to elect to represent florida in congress. She is tenacious. She hardworking. She is a passionate advocate and a tireless families and children. And she proudly, lee, shared her balance of work, family in her public life with cancer after, seven surgeries and winning her reelection. She decided the way she would share her story was by introducing a bill to make sure that the cdc educated young women that they could in fact get cancer and, that Early Detection made a difference. And then she thought, well, maybe wasnt enough. And so she decided she would start the congressional softball game. And the captain. And so that every year, people would be reminded about the going start with Debbie Wasserman schultz and then shes going to turn it over to her colleague, who is congressman armon lois frankel. Lois frankel, i first met. You will not remember this when she and i were bot florida. Andso congresswoman lois frankel describes herself as a working mom and now a working, which i just got to be that,t that cool . And so it will be a real joy for congresswoman Debbie Wasserman to introduce lois, who is now the cochair of the democratic womens caucus. Thank you. So its really thank you socamps a young legislator who i really attempted to emulate i found, you know, when youre when youre in elected official, particularly a state legislator and former state legislative colleagues will know this, you know, you you sort look around the country for other members who think like you and the legislation that theyre introducing. And jane was always one of those that i found myself always introducing the similar or this even same piece of legislation in my state legislature as she and are taking care of the reciate it so much and thank you thank you thank you to the for even conceiving this. Not surprising because jane is our ceo. I am thrilled to joinbustos, who lead you on a tour and a little our fantastic shortstop on, the congressional womens softball game for for many years. And were going to miss you this year. So bringing me coming back here and being with the. Being with the Capitol Historical Society and focusing on natural and National Statuary hall during womens History Month really brings me back to the time that i the years many years i chaired or was the Ranking Member of the legislative Branch Appropriations subcommittee. So i was only in my second term. I was learning the many of the legislative branch, but i immediately knew that the Historical Societys mission aligned with why i wanted to do, as the chair of the legislative branch proposed bill. So we had just inherited the Capitol Visitor Center where we are now. That project was mired in delays and hundreds of millions of dollars over budget fun times, but cbc mission just like the Historical Societys mission, was too vital for us to neglect states congressional story to the public was so important. And wow, did we certainly deliver that story . The visitor center, much like our Capitol Building, is filled with beauty and history. All around. Yet in americas narrative, we too often neglect to honor womens voices, contribute actions and legacies. But in these halls of congress, we can repair that injustice by ensuring the story of women and girls are shared in our nations most powerful halls. Whether its mother joseph, United States, or Esther Hobart. Morris as you already heard from my friend cynthia lummis, the first woman to hold a Judicial Office both in the nation and possibly in the modern world. Or sarah winnemucca, the first native american author and activist. These 11 women that are represented here with and honored with statues in the halls of congress are some of the brightest and boldest that our nation has to offer. Now, i would remiss if i didnt also mention 11 the most recent addition to these halls, dr. Mary Mcleod Bethune from the great state of florida. Yes, you can applaud her because she is an incredible she was a pioneering educator, a civil rights activist and public servant. And most people know her for starting now. What is now Bethune Cookman university. But she did so much more for our state and our nation. She also advised president Franklin Roosevelt and was the sole africanAmerican Woman officially join the u. S. Delegation that created the United Nations charter. Dr. Bethune is an incredible addition to the just under 270 statues here at the capitol. By the way, for those of you that just heard me say, 270 statues and im trying to do some math, i already did it for you. Thats under 5 of the statues in the capitol that are women. So in order to get a statue, the r statue from florida, john connor. Correct. Corey, corey. John, who invented air conditioning . Certainly in florida. Worthy of being honored in the halls of the capitol for florida or you had to have served at the high highest levels of government, at least thats the standard for most of the men who get statues in this written a book, prevented a world war and, done it all backwards in high before youre evenlevity i get f introducing michael and one of my dearest friends, someone who i have literally known every minute of my public life, hopefully when we meet to celebrate the women of statuary ha she is a champion of, towards reflecting the number women in our great nation like this one. Congresswoman lois frankel, as you already heard, has very long list of successes. She was the mayor of west palm beach, which in the led to side by side in the leadership of the state house together lois has been a champion of women and children and their quality of life and, the the equity and the necessity for us to make sure that is equal opportunity for all and a strong and voice for justice and a fantastic grandma who incessantly about her adorable g congresswoman, lois frankel. Well, hello. Its so hard to follow Debbie Wasserman. I should tell them a story, and yet i say she saved the story. First of all, jane, its so great to you. She was mayor cleveland when i was mayor of west palm beach. And we shared d a lot of stories together. And thank you to i quote his his hysterical society, the Historical Society. Thank you,of my besties, cheri bustos. Grace meng is here with us tonight. And you can hear from dina titus in few minutes. Thank you, ladies. And this is story. You talk about women sticking together. I knew debbie. I met debbie when she was just a college graduate. She looked she was 12. I dont know how old you were. What were you, 19 to talk. I was just starting my career in the Florida Legislature. I just want to say this before i tell you the story. I am responsible for Debbie Wasserman schultz career. Im going to prove it to you. But first i have to say hello to mr. Fike. Is back there, puerto rico. Hi, paul. Okay, so i was starting my career, the Florida Legislature and. I was not that knowledgeable about what i was. I had a lot of passion and drive and this. So i was looking for assistance and this young girl comes to my office and she applies for a job. And i looked at her, think know. I dont know anything. I said, no, i really cant hire you. Well, this y got job down in fot lauderdale with. What was his name again . Yeah, he a colleague of mine got peter deutsch, who was a state representative and wouldnt you know, she followed him into the state legislature, into the senate say. I am responsible. For her great career because i didnt hire her right. Even though she one terrific lady and really one of the great leaders here in congress. So. Womens a, very proud mem i wee womens caucus, four almost half of the democrats. So im here. Im honored to be here as womes month. But im just telling you this, women are making history every day. Its not just going to end this month as as a as member of congress. I mean, its to walk around this building, isnt it. We have a unique opportunity to in one of the most beautiful and important buildings in our country, a place where visitors from all over the world gather. And its a testament to the important work that we do. Its full of stunning art and a unique of very you said unique statutes that this depicts historical figures that are supposed to be a point of pride for each. Its a way to honor our leaders, our innovators, our activists and our educators. Now, if youre like me and, you walk through this halls and noticed something is missing. You say, where are the women . And youd be right to that. Of the hundreds in statuary hall collection, only 11 of them are women. Thats wrong, isnt it. And could you really tell the story is were making some progress right. And ill tell you, ill give you a year in the house, a bill that i helped to lead, along with senator klobuchar and the senate. We commissioned to statutes of our first two female female Supreme Court justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and sandra day oconnor. So that coming our way. You heard about floridas home state on my home state, the weather very good in florida. Thats all ill say. Right . Okay you cant take me anywhere. And what were going to have this new statute of dr. Mary Mcleod Bethune, a remarkable educator and civil rights leader, and she joins the of former president s and civil frances, pilot and icon amelia earhart. Dont know where she went. Shes shes still missing. I think, through that. But shes here and the very first congresswoman to serve in these halls, Jeannette Rankin. And theres more good news. Dr. Bethune is going to get some more fem for four more additionl are coming our way and this is going to show. Over 3 million tourists who visit this every year. A more accurate portrayal of our history, one that recognized womens contributions to shaping our country and the world and having these women represented in National Statuary hall collection will allow thousands of young who are here every day, their classmates and their families, their friends to see the women who broke down barriers. Remarkable women inspire us and let us know that regardless of gender dreams can come true. So thank you all for enjoying statutes. And now i would turn this over to a great lady from nevada. You can go to las vegas and have a lot of fun. Titus. Thank you. Well, thank you very much. Debbie and lois for your leader spotlight on the womens statues. You heard say there are only 11. When i first came here, all we had this original rotunda was that the ladies restroom was behind one of the mens statues. So you had to go hard to find it. Now we have our own, so we dont have look for in statuary hallo make. We have a statue here. Were sequins, but that would be one kind of woman we have in las. And so its kind of a schizophrenic, but our our statue is a bronze statue of sarah winnemucca. It was designed and and present by a 26 year old artist named benjamin victor. And he is the only artist to have three statue. And only being 26 years old. And now hes working on a fourth. So he quite the artist this given to the state statuary hall by nevada in 2005. So it took us a while to to get there. But were now making progress. Sarah winnemucca, live northern. She was a leader iner tribe, a negotiator, a a lecturer. And activist, a social reformer, a teacher and a wri served an interpreter and translator between her own people and the u. S. Ae y,s over 200 miles to sn Wasserman Schultz,womaeleeand fr congresswoman cheri bustos. And of course, the curator for the architect of the capitol, dr. Michele cohen, thank you alr your efforts to fully recognize the contributions of in our nations capital. Know chapter of our nations history as flag makers and Freedom Fighters sold years and suffragists, engineers and educators, women made america, america the capital is full of statues that depict so many of the people who shaped our republic. But those fortunate enough to spend time in our capitol can help but notice something hardly any of the artwork depicts women of the more than 200 statues in the capitol, only 16 women are represented and only 11 of the 100 statues within the National Statuary hall collection feature women. Among those 11, of course, is a honoring maria, a 19th century professor at the university of minnesota, who is one of the first women to work as a professor. And mary Mcleod Bethune, a civil activist who became the first africanamerican to be honored in statuary hall with the state commissioned statue from the state, florida. Thosea few years ago. I told him that in the history of the senate weve had nearly 2000 men and only about 50 women. He to me, if a nightclub had that bad, theyd shut it down. But were not shutting down, least of all capitol. In fact, were up. As chair of the senate rules with senator deb fischer as Ranking Member, im working making sure that womens e aisle with senators murkowski, collins and cinema to pass legislation to place statues of former Supreme Court justices Ruth Ginsburg and sandra day on capitol grounds. Both of these women were trailblazers before reaching the supreme. Opening doors for women a time when so many insisted on keeping them closed. So its only fitting that we honor, the remarkable lives and legacies by honoring them in the heart of our democracy statues. Up until a few years ago, there wasnt a single room in the us capitol named after a woman. So i worked with. My friend, former senator roy blunt, to name rooms in honor of barbara mikulski, the longest serving woman senator, and Margaret Chase smith, the first woman elected to both houses of congress. One was a democrat. Thats barbara mikulski. The other a republican. Margaret chase smith. The Margaret Chase smith room decorated with portraits of some of the trailblazing women who strengthened institution. Women Jeannette Rankin and shirley chisholm. The first woman and the first black woman elected the house of representatives as well as so many other women who broke down barriers. Mazie hirono. Tammy duckworth. Kamala. My friend. Kathryn coarse masto, you name. One of my favorite photos is a photo of staff in the u. S. Who many, many years ago decades ago desegregated the senate cafeteria. And they are so proud standing front of the capitol. This is about so much more, of course than changing up the artwork in building. When i walk around capitol, i see little girls visiting with their families and their schools by showing them the role. Women in our countrys past. Were sending a Crystal Clear message that womesence and by ys event. Thank again for inviting me to share a few wordkeep up the gre. Enjoy the rest of tonights event. You deserve it. Thank you, senator klobuchar klobuchar. So if youve learned one thing tonight, its that history is always unfolding and were always learning more. R the capitol historical support. You know, these kind of events, you, me and you think, oh, didnt she do a lovely job . Guess what . Theres a gentleman behind, the scenes who has been the event coordinator, sam and we thank you, sam and the entire staff of Capitol Historical Society. Its really a team effort. So now we get to do really fun thing which is go see the statues and we the way it works we get to go to the see the statues because we have former congresswoman cheri bustos with us to help lead the effort. And so stand up so everybody sees our leader and. Wheres vincent . And we will we will be accompanied by vincent gonzalez, who is our lead tour as to keep everybody on. Congresswoman titus, if you want to join us, we would be honored to have you. If you have to do something else, we will understand. All you. Thank you for believing in keeping history alive. Be well. They attacked by the bannock indians. She was a great spokesperson for her people. She gave over 300 speech is to win support them. She met with president b hayes andkarl in 1880 or 1883 autobiography life among the first book we believe written by a native American Woman. She started a school for native american children, and she taught them both in english, in their native language. She was married at least twice. Dont need to go into those details, but the plaque on her statue reads sarah, defender of human educator and, author of the first book by a native woman. I hope you will Pay Attention to the statue because her dress is adorned by fringe and it looks as though its flowing in the breeze. And that that kind of depicts that forward movement, its really beautiful. She holds a shell flower in one hand and a book in the other. Shes about 35 years old in this statue. So its an honor to to see her to have children view her to. If you can see her, you can be her. And to have a native American Woman represent, the state of nevada here in the capital. So you very much stop and see her and shes. Congresswoman titus, we really appreciate your your words. I you know i had some nice things to say about you, but i think, lois, you know, lois frankel took care of all of it. I noticed that congressman takacs here. And who is somebody else . Kelly grace meng is here. And i kelly congressman kelly anderson. Kelly, are north dakota. Thank you very much. You can see i dont have my in front of me so i right. We had this set up and so that we would then context our scholr and our expert makes a lot of sense that the scholar would follow congresswoman titus because congresswoman titus for 34 years taught his history and politics of nevada and the United States of and so today to put this in context is our favorite our favorite art historian who is Michele Cohen and michelle is the curator of the architect of the capitol. It is her job to make sure that all the art is safe, that we all understand what it is. And she comes to us with a fascinating background. Shes from new york. She was in charge of the public art for the new york city schools. So dr. Michele cohen, come tell us, how does this all fit im to just look well, honestly, really enjoyed listening to everybody. Try and lets get our first slide up and i guess i can in some of the blanks by showing you some. So you can actually see some of the statues that were talking about. So again, thank you, jane. And the u. S. Capitol Historical Society for inviting me to participate in tonight todays event. And i im very pleased to highlight women, both the subjects and some the artists represented in the National Statuary hall collection. What i didnt get here. Okay, its here now. Its not. Were going to see pictures now, then. From, senator klobuchar, and then were going to go see the actual statues themselves under the leadership of. Former congresswoman cheri bustos. And so as as referenced earlier, all are very familiar with the statue of freedom in the 19th century, women depicted in caterpillar art were primarily symbolic figures. The most widely known is surely this statue of freedom atop the capitol, sculpted by thomas and hoisted into place in 1863. She inspiration, consistent with centuries depictions of women in western art. She is an allegory giving form to a national aspiration, not a specific person. However, with the increasing prominence of women in artistic and political arenas, and i think my numbers are correct. So today in congress, 153 of 540 voting, a nonvoting members are women. There is a growing number of u. S. Capitol sculptures and paintings that honor individual women who shaped American History. Now, just a little about the national National Statuary hall collection. It was inaugurated in 1864, remarkab, before the end of the civil war in the final legislation that established this collection. The word persons was substituted for the word men, but it wasnt until 1905 that a statue of a woman entered colction. And weve heard about that. Its frances willard. So today, 11 of 100 statues in this collection celebrate women. We heard some other statistics. I think it was really about all sculpture in the building. But the statuary hall collection itself. So were actuallycollection. Then in the year 2000, Congress Passed legislation to states to replace statues and of course, i think that speaks the need for thinking about, well, who are our heroe who do weant to represent us . So. Today there are 11 replaced mints that are on view, but there are ita few in the pipeline. And there are, in fact, of those in the pipeline are of women. So just a little of who is coming. So Arkansas Commission daisy the gates garrison bates. Shes a civil rights activist, publisher, journalist and, lecturer. Nebraska has commissioned willa cather, author from utah. Were going to get more through use cannon. Utah state senator a physician suffragist and from virginia, barbara johns, civil rights leader. The first statue that was actually and the collection dates to 1870. You can that on t left and the hundredth statue to complete this group of 100 is of poppy which we got in 2005. Statues commemorate five centuries of american from the early colonial era the 20th century from revolutionary war figures to astronauts. And interestingly enough, some of the statues honoring Women Associated with western state. Currently four of the statues that honor women are also by artists. So, joy buba, did Florence Sabin represent colorado . Helen farnsworth merz did the very first. Francis willard 1905 from illinois. Terry madonna did. Jeannette rankin, montana statue that was brought here in 1985. And then the most recent of the soon by neil de coleman. And that was just unveiled in 2022. So this is just going to be a very quick people and what the statues look like. So here we have frances willard. You can see its a marble thats actually important fact about the statue, a whole collection that sculptures to be either bronze or marble. And so the parameter of the legislation dont really encourage a lot of creative expression in that regard. So youre seeing more a more traditional approach to commemoration. So this is the very first one. Francis is willard the artist is quite interesting. Helen farnsworth year she was a student of augustus and garden so some of you are familiar with him he the sherman monument in new york city, one of the leading american sculptors of the 19th century. And the other interesting fact about this is that womens clubs were really behind sponsoring it. So thats another way to look at the collection to look at the history of patronage and understand what were really interested in having sculptures of particular individuals. And there are quite a few instances actuallybs who made te difference and got a lot of these things commissioned severadecades passed before minnesota commissioned this statue of maria sanford, educator to one of the first female College Professors the country. And here we pioneer for women in science. The first woman to hold a full professorship at Johns Hopkins school of medicine, first woman elected to the National Academy of sciences and the first woman to head a department at the Rockefeller Institute for medical research. Joy buba. As you can see her, portrait there created, i would say a more contemporary rendering of her figure. Its much more impressionistic than some of the other bronzes that see in the collection. You can really feel artist touch the artists hand when look at the surface of Esther Hobart smith coming really just a year later after e sabin from, wyoming. And as we earlier, she was the first woman justice of the peace. I think in the entire country, the United States as well as a very active devoted suffragist. And here is 20 years after that. So theres quite a lot of space of time thats happening between these commissions, although they sort of a little bit coming. But 20 years later, washington chose architect and humanitarian mother to represent to bene of their representatives and she actually is right near this conference hall. Shes right in the visitor center. And here we have jeanettenown, celebrated as a real pacifist and of course, the first woman elected the house of representatives coming from montana. And sacagawea, you know, so what youre seeing is not sculpture that dates to 2003. It was cast was made when the state wanted to use is to represt them. The original is in bismarck, north dakota, and that dates to 1914. And there was also bills, suzanne, a lot of discussion about accepting this into the collection, because the the stare, the law that basically indicas its a single figure and because its a mother with a child, an exception was made so promoted. Kind of an interesting internal discussion as to whether or not could be permitted. As we learned about sarah winnemucca, northern paiute, author, aivist lecturer and educator, unveiled in 2005 from nevada and then alabama. Replaced one of eistatues shoes with hen keller in 2009. Of course, helen keller, known as the author disabled te rights advocate, political activist and lecturer. And now we are coming to more recent times. Last summer, there a lot of activity and alia earhart was unveiled. Shes, ocourse, aation pioneer, author, activist, first female to fly solo, the atlantic. And then we have, our statue of mary Mcleod Bethune. Its also created by neil como, who has the distinction being the first artist of puerto rican and to give us a little closer look of one of these pieces, i thought itd be really interesting to look at the bethune. Like most artists who are working a portrait, they really want to immerse themselves in their subject. And so comos did that. And she tried to learn as much as she could about bethune. She studied her biography, writing her photographs, visited her home in daytona beach. But interestingly enough, she also wanted to hear her voice and listened intently to numerous record rings of bethune speeches. And as nelda told, she said that that voice really influenced her conception of it and suggested qualities of coffee, dance, gentleness and directness. And so you can see the head is tilted as if shes speaking directly to a child. The Walking Stick the center refers to its relationship with president roosevelt. Eleanor roosevelt gave it her after the president death and the black rose to the black velvet that bethune saw growing a swiss garden. And she saw it intermingled with roses of many colors. And this inspired reflections on diversity, individuality and peaceful interracial growth. And she came to refer to her as black roses. So that was also very symbolic thing in. The last part, which hopefully youll see on your tour. So most marbles really need to have like a tripod structure for the order to be structurally to stand essentially. So these books serve a structural purpose, but they also contain meaning they are a distillation of text from a piece of the students writing, something she referred to as my last and testament and wrote this as the reflections toward end of her life and the top of the pile. A top book reads i leave you, i leave you. Love faith, a thirst, education, racial dignity courage and peace. And just quickly to give you a better understanding of the statues in the statuary collection in the context of other art, the capital. So we had talked about the fact that two new sculptures have been commissioned. And i just want to show you very briefly, the johnson portrait monument to the chris sharma, Elizabeth Cady stanton and susan b anthony, which was presented in 1921 by the National Womens party to mark the ratification of the 19th amendment. And it has a very interesting how it was equipped. And then it was brought to the rotunda. Some of you may be familiar with that. And then we have artist lanes bust of sojourner truth, the abolitionist and womens rights advocate. This was unveiled in emancipation hall in 2009 and then lets see what more lips went too far. Rosa parks, Congress Passed legislation to commission this statue. Civil rights activist rosa parks, unveiled in 2013 in National Statuary. In fact, its the only statue in that hall that not commissioned by a state. But when visitors come to the building, really dont distinguish between what was commissioned congress, what was commissioned by a state. And now i want introduce you to a new app that i worked on at the Capitol Visitor Center to disseminate the stories. Figures celebrated in the National Statuary collection more widely. You can download this on your smartphone. Its called who the people. You can project a statue on your living room floor. And then can click on these various icons or various highlighted parts it to really and reveal lot of meaning and to contextualize these sculptures. But to learn more about the subjects. I recorded an about looking at it as an artwork. And its a really i think a wonderful way to understand public and also to even share enjoy this approach. Statues of women in the u. S. Capitol only at the range womens achieved in the United States. They repsent educators, scientists, jurists, authors politicians and civil rights vists. Unlike many of the men depicted in marble and bronze these women ar first women to obtain recognition in their respective fields. And i woulday is only the beginning. Thank you. Why . I told you she was our star scholar. For that those words and that inspiration. It is a gift to the capitol. That to have you with us. We are going to hear from senator Amy Klobuchar who couldnt be with us tonightoccat possible for us to move forward. And so as soon as the Technology Allows that to happen, we will tell you. Senator klobuchar also is the first woma minnesota, the United States senate. She chairs the rulesjustice. And here she is. So us hear from senator klobuchar and then im going to give you the instructions the to where. Hello to everyone attending the us capitol Historical National l program. Id like to thank my friend Jane Campbell for your tremendous leadership as president and ceo of the us. C h s. Id also like to recognize of the other great Women Leaders involved in this. My friend congresswoman debbie