True Left

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, introduced a resolution on Friday calling on Congress' upper chamber to wipe the name of the late Sen. Richard Russell off the Russell Senate Office Building. The Georgia Democrat was a staunch opponent of de-segregation and the Civil Rights Movement during his nearly four decades in the Senate.

"I marvel at how we have arrived in the year 2023, and we have a building on this campus, named after a person who was a White supremacist, a person who fought against anti-lynching laws, a person who fought integration, a person who was a segregationist," Green fumed on the House floor in late July. "And we, people of color, tolerate it."

Richard Russell Jr. - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Russell was seen as a hero by many of the pro Jim Crow South. While undoubtedly a skilled politician of immense influence, his legacy is marred by his lifelong support of white supremacy. Russell publicly said that America was “a white man’s country, yes, and we are going to keep it that way.” He also said he was vehemently opposed to “political and social equality with the Negro.” Russell also supported poll taxes across the South and called President Truman's support of civil rights for black Americans an “uncalled-for attack on our Southern civilization."[38]