2026 SESSION

ENROLLED

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 111

Reconstituting the Booker T. Washington Commemorative Commission as a joint commemorative commission.

Agreed to by the Senate, March 12, 2026

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 11, 2026

WHEREAS, Senate Resolution No. 95 (2021) called for the establishment of a commemorative commission to recognize the legacy and contributions to the Commonwealth of Booker T. Washington with a statue in the Old Senate Chamber; and

WHEREAS, Senate Resolution No. 95 (2021) requested that the Chair of the Senate Committee on Rules establish and chair such a commission consisting of the Clerk of the Senate of Virginia and four additional members of the Senate Committee on Rules, appointed by the Chair of the Senate Committee on Rules; and

WHEREAS, in closing his autobiography, Up from Slavery, Booker T. Washington described his return to Virginia at the invitation of African American citizens of Richmond to speak to an integrated audience that included the members of the Senate of Virginia and the House of Delegates; and

WHEREAS, the membership of the Senate of Virginia and the House of Delegates voted to attend as a body, a testament to his life's work toward racial reconciliation; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the Booker T. Washington Commemorative Commission, originally established as a Senate commission, be reconstituted as a joint commemorative commission consisting of members of both the Senate and the House of Delegates, and its purpose be expanded to study and recommend an appropriate statue to be located on Capitol Square. The commemorative commission shall consist of four members of the Senate Committee on Rules appointed by the Chair of such committee, six members of the House Committee on Rules appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, the Chair of the Senate Committee on Rules, the Speaker of the House of Delegates, and the Clerks of the Senate and the House of Delegates.

The Commission shall study and recommend to the General Assembly an appropriate statue and location on Capitol Square to commemorate the life, achievements, and legacy of Booker T. Washington. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Commission upon request.

Until completion of the Commission's work or the erection of the statue, whichever occurs later, the Commission shall report each year to the General Assembly on the status of its work, including any findings and recommendations. The first of such reports shall be due no later December 1, 2026, and every year thereafter.