Capitol collection gets first statue featuring black person, replacing Confederate general

A statue featuring a black person was added for the first time to the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall collection on Wednesday.

The statue of Mary McLeod Bethune, a civil rights activist and presidential adviser, replaces one that featured a Confederate general that was removed in 2021 after former Gov. Rick Scott of Florida signed a law to remove it in 2018. The statue of Bethune is the first of several to replace Confederate statues, as Virginia is set to remove its statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.