Lawmakers honor enslaved craftspeople who built the Tennessee State Capitol

By Kim Rafferty

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    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Tennessee Capitol is a monument representing democracy and freedom but state archives found enslaved people were the ones who built it.

Students read a resolution by Democratic Rep. Justin Jones to honor the skilled but forced labor of 15 people.

“When I filed this resolution it made me emotional because I could hear them saying ‘someone can finally see us finally saying our names’,” said Jones.

Among books the state still has is a hard reality that handwritten notes show how much slave owners would be paid for their slaves work at the capitol.

Those names found include Lewis, Daniel, Robert, Nelson, John, Parker, Dang, Bill, John G., John, Andrew and Jim.

The Resolution honored, for the first time in state history, the enslaved craftspeople by name and their contributions that had for over a century had been overlooked.

“For too long, these fifteen individuals have not been given proper recognition, and it is our privilege and duty to rectify this dereliction and duly credit the skilled men who helped create one of our state’s most treasured lanmdarks,” said House Joint Resolution 152 which passed unanimously.

Elders, students, professors, lawmakers, and community members took part in the commemoration.

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