{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang1033{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}{\f1\fswiss\fcharset0 Arial;}} \viewkind4\uc1\pard\f0\fs24 Elijah E. Cummings\par Member of Congress\par 1632 Longworth Bldg\par Washington D.C. 20515\par \par Cc: Barbara Wolanin, Paul Brathwaite, Richard Fiengold, Herb Kohl\par \par Dear Congressperson Cummings:\par \f1\fs20\par I am writing regarding truth and historical justice in the United States Capital. As a student of history, I am aware of the harmful effect misinformation can have. I am sure that you will be as dedicated as I am to ensuring historical accuracy in the Capital. \par \par I have found that there are some disturbing pieces of information missing from the Washington D.C. exhibit in the Capital building. At the end of October, during a visit to D.C., several friends and I took a tour of the Capital building. We stopped to look atthe exhibit on how the Capital was constructed and how it has been modified and how the city of D.C. was designed. I had read in several places and was thus under the impression that an African-American man named Benjamin Banneker had been responsible for the creation of D.C. However, there was no mention of Banneker in the exhibit. My friends and I questioned our tour guide, but he could offer us no explanation, nor did he have knowlegde of Banneker.\par \par We found that Banneker was one of three people appointed to the D.C. design team. Unfortunately, the Capital exhibit gives the French architect Pierre L'Enfant all of the credit for the design of Washington, D.C when in fact, L'Enfant left the project partway through, taking all of the city plans back to France with him. In a period of several days, Banneker recreated the plans from memory, thus enabling the project to continue as plan and "saving" Washington D.C. Clearly, there is significant credit due to Banneker as a result of his participation in the creation of D.C. His name and story should be in the Capital exhibit.\par \par Not only is this oversight in the Capital exhibit distressing because it illustrates how invisible African-Americans are in United States history, but it is an interesting piece of history that surely belongs in any museum or display dedicated to the capital of the United States and its creation. I would challenge you to make this minor change and take step towards uncovering a clearer and less biased history of the United States.\par \par Thank you for you consideration. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this important matter.\par \par Sincerely,\par \par \par \par Lindsay McRae Sumner\par }