Lawmakers unveil statue of civil rights leader Daisy Bates at U.S. Capitol

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Washington lawmakers and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) unveiled a new statue of civil rights activist Daisy Bates on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

Bates is best known for leading the Little Rock Nine in 1957 and helped them become the first African-American student to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, marking a huge and pivotal moment in the civil rights movement.

“Every high school, every middle school, every elementary school, every college in this country is the pattern of America today because of Daisy Gaston Bates,” said Charles King, President of the Daisy Bates House Museum Foundation.

The bronze statue of Bates was unveiled in Statuary Hall in the center of the U.S. Capitol.

“She knew that what is popular isn’t always right. And what is right isn’t always popular. But if you do the right thing, eventually it’ll all catch up. And. And she did that. And because she did that, America is a more perfect union than it was when she began,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).

Bates was also was the president of the Arkansas NAACP chapter for several years, was a journalist who documented the civil rights movement and worked on antipoverty projects for the Lyndon B. Johnson administration.

The Arkansas state legislature choose her and singer Johnny Cash to represent their state in the Capitol back in 2019, replacing two older statues.

Bates remained a passionate activist until her death in 1999 but her smiling face will now look out over lawmakers for many years to come.

“Long after all of us are retired from politics and gone from this world, Daisy will be standing here in these marble halls, reminding everyone of the long and difficult march it took to get us to this moment, and the importance of continuing that march forward,” said Governor Sanders.

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