Rep. Al Green has asked the Senate to remove the name of Sen. Richard B. Russell from an office building, citing Russell's long-standing opposition to civil rights and his role in the Southern Manifesto. Russell served in the Senate from 1933 to 1971 and was honored with the renaming of the Old Senate Office Building in 1972 by a 99–1 vote. Green has made multiple appeals over the years and wants the structure returned to its original name until a suitable replacement is chosen. He frames the change as aligning public symbols with national ideals of liberty and justice.
Rep. Al Green Urges Senate to Remove Segregationist Sen. Richard Russell’s Name from Office Building
Rep. Al Green has asked the Senate to remove the name of Sen. Richard B. Russell from an office building, citing Russell's long-standing opposition to civil rights and his role in the Southern Manifesto. Russell served in the Senate from 1933 to 1971 and was honored with the renaming of the Old Senate Office Building in 1972 by a 99–1 vote. Green has made multiple appeals over the years and wants the structure returned to its original name until a suitable replacement is chosen. He frames the change as aligning public symbols with national ideals of liberty and justice.
02:26 PM, 11/21/2025Politics
Rep. Al Green (D-Tex.) has renewed a call for the U.S. Senate to strip the late Sen. Richard B. Russell (D-Ga.) from the name of one of its office buildings, arguing that Russell’s long record of opposing civil rights makes him an inappropriate emblem for the institution.
Green's appeal
In a letter sent to every senator, Green wrote that the building's name 'sends a powerful signal about the kind of leadership and principles our country holds in high esteem.' He argued that public symbols should 'inspire a vision of liberty and justice for all, not the glorification of a person who fought to deny basic rights to millions of Americans and to entrench white supremacy in our democracy.'
'This clarion call is not an attempt to erase history, but an effort to ensure that our prominent public spaces reflect our best ideals, not our darkest actions,' Green wrote. 'Continuing to honor racist Senator Russell in the very halls where he obstructed civil rights legislation is an affront to all who believe we cannot glorify racism. It is long past time for the Senate to remove this racist symbol of national shame.'
Why Russell is controversial
Richard Russell served in the Senate from 1933 until his death in 1971, rising to Senate Dean and President pro tempore. He opposed racial integration and the Civil Rights Movement. Russell criticized the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education as a 'flagrant abuse of the judicial power and a violation of states' rights' and was a key figure among Southern senators who drafted the 1956 'Southern Manifesto' pledging legal resistance to school desegregation.
Russell also spoke against the 1964 Civil Rights Act on the Senate floor. After the Act became law, he publicly urged compliance with it.
Building name and past efforts
In 1972 the Senate voted 99–1 to rename the Old Senate Office Building in Russell's honor; only Sen. Philip Hart (D-Mich.) opposed the move, warning that it would be unwise to anticipate history's verdict. Since then, members and outside advocates have periodically questioned whether Russell should continue to be commemorated in that way.
Rep. Green has pressed the Senate to reconsider the building name multiple times, including in July 2020, February 2022 and June 2025. After Sen. John McCain's death in 2018, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced a resolution proposing the building be named for McCain; that proposal has not resulted in a permanent change.
In his most recent request, Green urged the Senate to restore the building's original name until a 'worthy successor' is selected.
Offices of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Majority Leader John Thune were contacted for comment on Green's latest letter.