Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), our non-voting representative in the U.S. Congress, yesterday requested that the District be allowed to place two statues in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall, at right, where each state is granted the right to place two statues of prominent citizens. The request came during a debate on New Mexico’s request to place a statue of Po’pay, a Native American leader who launched what has been called “the first American Revolution” against the Spanish in 1680, in the hall. Said Norton:

The District of Columbia was born with the nation itself. The city has more than two centuries of its very own rich and uniquely American history. The District boasts distinguished figures in history from whom selections for statues could readily be made. It should go without saying that the almost 600,000 American citizens who live in the nation’s capital deserve the honor of having two of their history makers represented in the Capitol as citizens of New Mexico and all 50 states have long enjoyed. D.C. residents have not yet obtained the same full political equality and voting rights as states, but they have always had every one of the responsibilities of the states, including paying all federal taxes and serving in all wars. Every time we allow the District to be excluded from its place among the 50 states, we undermine our own leadership role for democracy around the world. Authorizing two District statues has special importance for our residents because the statues would be seen by million of visitors every year, reinforcing our proud citizenship and unity with other Americans, whose historical figures are commemorated.

DCist fully endorses this idea, yet remains curious as to who would qualify to represent the District in the hall. Pierre L’Enfant, who designed the city? Jazz legend Duke Ellington? Our first elected mayor, Walter Washington? Mayor-for-life Marion Barry?

Who do you think should be immortalized by the District in Statuary Hall?