WASHINGTON ― House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday called for “immediately” removing 11 Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol, calling them “monuments to men who advocated cruelty and barbarism to achieve such a plainly racist end.”

“Their statues pay homage to hate, not heritage,” the California Democrat said in a letter to the congressional panel with jurisdiction over a display of statues at the Capitol.

The Capitol’s National Statuary Hall features statues donated by states ― two from each ― to honor people notable in a particular state’s history.

The collection of 100 statues is overseen by the Architect of the Capitol.

, the chair and vice chair of the joint committee, respectively, urges them to direct the Architect of the Capitol to take steps to remove the statues.