Booker, Norton Announce Senate Hearing on Enslaved Voyages Memorial Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and U.S. Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced today that the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will hold a hearing on their Enslaved Voyages Memorial Act, which would authorize the establishment of a memorial on federal land in the District of Columbia to honor enslaved persons, on Thursday, December 1, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. Media and the general public will be able to view the hearing here.

Booker and Norton’s bill passed the House in September. The memorial, to be established by the Georgetown African American Historic Landmark Project and Tour, would honor enslaved persons’ presence, celebrate their contributions to history, and recognize their resilience and fortitude.

“In a dark chapter of our nation’s history, millions of enslaved people were brought to this land against their will. We must ensure that their stories and immense contributions are lifted up and never forgotten,” said Senator Booker. “I applaud the House for passing my Enslaved Voyages Memorial Act and commend the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for taking up this important legislation in their next hearing.”

“The memorial our bill authorizes will be a powerful marker of truth-telling and remembrance, and I am proud to have gotten it passed in the House,” said Representative Norton. “Thank you to Senator Booker for introducing the companion bill in the Senate and to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources for holding this important hearing. Let us honor the personhood of these individuals, who were repeatedly assumed to have none, so that they will never be forgotten.”

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