Hoyer Attends Groundbreaking for New Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Hoyer (MD-05) joined Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL) and District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser this afternoon at the groundbreaking of the new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery.

"Thank you, Congresswoman [Eleanor] Holmes Norton. We are gathered here today not only to break ground on a bridge that many of my constituents use to commute to work, but to celebrate the 200th birthday of its namesake.

"Two centuries ago this month, Frederick Douglass was born not far from here, on a Maryland plantation. Born into slavery, he yearned for freedom. And after he made a daring escape at the age of twenty, he eloquently spoke of slavery's horrors and advocated for abolition.

"Today, Frederick Douglass is recognized as one of history's greatest Americans, and I'm proud that his portrait hangs in my office. It is very fitting that, among the many tributes to Frederick Douglass, one of these should be this bridge.

"‘We are here,' Douglass declared in 1876, not far from where we stand today, ‘with the stately pillars and majestic dome of the capitol of the nation looking down upon us…' And the new bridge that will bear his name – just as the old one did for sixty-eight years – will connect that stately and majestic Capitol, capped by freedom and dedicated to democracy, to neighborhoods steeped in African-American history and culture, through which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue stretches. 

"I am proud to stand with all of you here on this momentous day. And I was proud to secure over $200 million in federal funding that is making this new bridge possible. It is a true collaboration between the federal and DC governments in our common effort to ensure that the nation's Capital can grow for the twenty-first century with an infrastructure ready to meet the needs of a city on the move.

"The three majestic arches of this stately bridge will welcome newcomers – Americans and visitors alike – to Washington with a reminder of our history and the freedom and equal opportunity for which our nation stands. I look forward to being here for the opening of the new Frederick Douglass bridge, and I thank Mayor [Muriel] Bowser, Congresswoman Holmes Norton, the DC Council, and the transportation officials who are engaged in turning the vision of this bridge into a reality."