Statue honoring Black educator replaces Confederate general at U.S. Capitol

The big picture: Bethune was an adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and an advocate for Black Americans from the schoolhouse to the White House.

• She founded a university that became Bethune-Cookman University, a historically Black university in Daytona Beach, Florida.

What they're saying: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the unveiling ceremony called the replacement "trading a traitor for a civil rights hero."

• Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) said at the event, "Today we are rewriting the history we want to share with our future generations. We are replacing a remnant of hatred and division with a symbol of hope and inspiration."
• Lawrence Drake II, the interim president of Bethune-Cookman University, said at the ceremony, "Our hearts are rejoicing today seeing our founder and namesake take her rightful place among the most distinguished Americans."

Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who signed a bill in 2018 to commission the statue when he was Florida's governor, said in a statement that he hoped "that American families will learn from her legacy for decades to come."

Flashback: Last year, the House voted 285-120 to remove statues of Confederate generals from the Capitol.

• A Senate version of the bill was introduced last year but has not advanced.
• Overall, more than 70 Confederate statues were removed or renamed in 2021 after protests against police violence and racism put a renewed focus on the monuments.