TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A memorial recognizing the cruelty and inhumanity of slavery could soon be placed on the Florida Capitol grounds.
The House unanimously passed a bill Thursday to create the memorial after an impassioned speech by Democratic Rep. Kionne McGhee.
McGhee noted that a mural on the House chamber floor depicted a woman slave and wondered what she would say.
He said she would have talked about how slaves were used to build the state's first legislative meeting house after it became a U.S. territory in 1822 and the first Capitol when Florida became a state in 1845.
McGhee also talked about how slaves were whipped and raped and many died building railroads.
A Senate bill has one more committee stop before being considered before the full chamber.
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