{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/norton-raskin-van-hollen-introduce-bill-remove-name-segregationist-chevy-chase", "Norton, Raskin, Van Hollen Introduce Bill to Remove Name of Segregationist from Chevy Chase Circle", "2025-07-22", "2025", "2025-07", "Democrat", "House", "DC", "Eleanor Holmes Norton", "N000147", "norton.house.gov", "norton", "https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) today introduced a bill which would remove the plaque and inscriptions bearing Francis Newlands' name from Chevy Chase Circle a federal park located in both the District of Columbia and in Maryland's 8th Congressional District, which Raskin represents. Newlands was a U.S. senator from Nevada, a conservationist and the founder of the Chevy Chase Land Company, which developed the Chevy Chase neighborhood. Newlands was also a segregationist and held racist views. The Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands held a hearing on the bill in 2022, where Norton testified that \u201cNewlands does not deserve to be honored on federal land.\u201d\n\n\"I\u2019ve long called for statues dedicated to Confederates and segregationists to be placed in museums, where they can be better contextualized, instead of being showcased in locations that connote honor,\" CongresswomanNorton said. \"However, there is no redeeming value in preserving an honorific to an avowed and unrepentant racist. The plaque and fountain in Chevy Chase Circle tell no story. They are meant only to honor Newlands, a segregationist who argued that voting rights won for African Americans as a result of the Civil War should be repealed. Newlands belongs in the dust bins of history, not preserved on a traffic circle that symbolizes the unity between the nation's capital and the state of Maryland.\"\n\n\u201cAssociating an avowed segregationist and white supremacist with Chevy Chase Circle is an affront to the people of Maryland and D.C.,\u201d said Rep. Raskin. \u201cI\u2019m partnering with Congresswoman Norton and Senators Van Hollen and Alsobrooks on legislation to remove Francis Newlands\u2019 name from the Circle\u2019s fountain and reclaim this beautiful space at the intersection of the Free State and the Capital City\u2014two proudly diverse and welcoming places\u2014for the recreation and enjoyment of all our neighbors.\u201d\n\n\u201cFrancis Newlands was a white supremacist who worked to make his developments, including Chevy Chase, inaccessible to Black, Jewish, and working class families. We should not be memorializing him and the bigoted policies he stood for \u2013 the legacies of which are still harmful to this day. Instead of glorifying those who promoted exclusion and division, we should be working together to build communities that support growth and economic inclusion for all,\u201d said Senator Van Hollen.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T14:40:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://norton.house.gov/media/press-releases/norton-raskin-van-hollen-introduce-bill-remove-name-segregationist-chevy-chase"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0593431070446968, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}