Black defending the U.S. Capitol takes photo with Rosa Parks statue

• National Guards called to defend the U.S. Capitol stopped for a photo with a statue of a civil rights icon just a week after a pro-Trump mob desecrated its halls.
• The tribute to Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, is the first full-length statue of a black American in the United States Capitol.
• Americans were shocked by the pro-Trump mob that besieged Capitol Hill in a deadly assault and carried symbols of hatred like Confederate flags and Nazi-inspired flags – historic enemies that US troops defeated in America’s deadliest wars.
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National Guards called to defend the U.S. Capitol stopped for a photo with a statue of a civil rights icon a week after a pro-Trump mob desecrated its halls with symbols of hate.

A small group of black servicemen gathered near the Rosa Parks statue in the National Statuary Hall of the Capitol, a monument that depicts her refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger who had just boarded the bus. His courageous act garnered national attention and inspired widespread civil disobedience to Jim Crow-era laws like segregation on buses, which the Supreme Court ultimately ruled unconstitutional. The Tribute to Parks is the first full-length statue of a black American in the US Capitol, according to the Capitol architect.

Authorities are deploying 10,000 guards in the Washington area by Saturday to support law enforcement, as the FBI warns there could be days when armed people attempt to disrupt or even threaten the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.

On January 6, a mob instigated by President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol and stormed the police in a rampage that prompted lawmakers to take cover and left five people dead. Members of the crowd wore clothes calling for a 2nd Holocaust and the symbols of armed gangs and sported Confederate flags and Nazi-inspired flags – historic foes defeated by American troops in America’s deadliest wars.

Employees of color who work at Capitol Hill told the New York Times it would take a long time to feel safe on the job again. And the black and Latino janitors on Capitol Hill told Insider it was “degrading” to clean up after the white mob who smashed windows, scribbled threats and spread excrement on the walls.

Lawmakers arriving on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, when the House is holding impeachment hearings over Trump’s role in the riot, found echelons of guards around the Capitol, some resting alongside their riot shields and weapons. The National Guard is expected to be in the area during Biden’s inauguration.