Congress Faces the "Truth"

December 13, 2006

NOW President Kim Gandy speaking at the 2002 "Rally for Truth" with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) on her left and C. DeLores Tucker on her right.

The Senate passed a bill last week directing that a statue of Sojourner Truth be displayed in the U.S. Capitol building, the first African-American woman to be so honored. The House had already passed the same bill (HR 4510) so this legislation now goes to the president for signature.

"We are pleased that Sojourner Truth will finally be honored with a permanent memorial in the U.S. Capitol, but disappointed that she will not be joining her sisters in the Capitol's 'Portrait Monument,' a statue depicting Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton," said NOW President Kim Gandy. NOW has long supported the move to add Truth to the statue, participating in press conferences and rallies spearheaded by the late Dr. C. DeLores Tucker, a civil rights and women's rights leader who was chair of the National Congress of Black Women.

The legislation requires that the statue be donated, and that it be installed within two years following the bill's passage. The National Congress of Black Women has launched a campaign to raise the $2 million necessary to commission and complete the statue, and install it in the Capitol. Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq., the current national chair of the National Congress of Black Women and former NOW National Board member, said, "This is a great honor for Black women everywhere, and we are grateful to all who worked to make it happen. While we have struggled for a very long time to keep Sojourner Truth's legacy alive, we recognize that it is through our struggles that we gain our victories."

If you would like to contribute to the fund for the Sojourner Truth statue, please send checks payable to the National Congress of Black Women to the Action Center and we will deliver them, along with NOW Foundation's contribution to the fund. Send your checks to NOW Sojourner Truth Fund, 1100 H St. NW, Floor 3, Washington, D.C. 20005.