Democrat calls for renaming of Russell Senate Office Building
Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) is urging senators to rename the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill because of former Sen. Richard Russell's history of opposing civil rights and avowing white supremacy.
"Throughout his career, Senator Russell engaged in constant lobbying on behalf of opponents to Civil Rights," Green wrote in a letter to senators Thursday about the Georgia Democrat who died in 1971. "Perhaps most telling of his beliefs, during a lengthy filibuster against anti-lynching legislation, Senator Russell professed a willingness to uphold 'white supremacy in the social, economic, and political life of our state.'"
"His public assertions, including ones that declared America 'a white man’s country' and his outspoken opposition to 'political and social equality with the Negro,' further underscored his divisive ideology," Green added.
Russell, who was Georgia's governor from 1931-33, held his Senate seat for nearly four decades until his death.
Green asked senators to revert to using the name "Old Senate Office Building" for the structure built in the early 1900s that 33 senators and five committees currently occupy. It was named in honor of Russell the year after he died.
"It has long past time to remove this insult to people of goodwill from a building paid for and maintained with public funds," Green wrote. "The notion that the Senate cannot agree on a new permanent name does not prevent the Senate from reverting to the previous name, which was 'The Old Senate Office Building,' until a new permanent name is approved."
Green sponsored a House resolution in 2020 urging senators to change the name, but the effort was opposed by the then-Republican senators from Georgia.
"Renaming the Russell Senate Office Building is a powerful step in rejecting Russell’s legacy rooted in racial division and oppression," Green said in a statement on his renewed push.
Georgia Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock both took office in 2021.
Warnock is the state's first Black senator, and Ossoff is its first Jewish senator.
Ossoff and Warnock's offices didn't immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment on whether they support the change.