A monument in Washington, DC to honor slaves and free blacks who fought in the American Revolution came once step closer to getting built. Legislation (S. 883) to authorize such a project was reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar.

Similar legislation failed in the last Congress, however.

The bill would allow the National Mall Liberty Fund DC to raise private money for the memorial, which would go on an unspecified piece of public real estate in the District of Columbia to honor the 5,000 individuals in question who served in the U.S. military or otherwise helped in the War of Independence.

Since the monument would be built with non-federal funds, the Congressional Budget Office estimated federal costs as “insignificant.”...