PUBLIC LAW 114–5—MAR. 7, 2015 

FOOT SOLDIERS VOTING RIGHTS MARCHES 

CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL 


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129 STAT. 78 PUBLIC LAW 114–5—MAR. 7, 2015 

Public Law 114–5 

114th Congress 

An Act 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Foot Soldiers who participated in 

Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, or the final Selma to Montgomery Voting 

Rights March in March of 1965, which served as a catalyst for the Voting Rights 

Act of 1965. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

The Congress finds the following: 

(1) March 7, 2015, will mark 50 years since the brave 

Foot Soldiers of the Voting Rights Movement first attempted 

to march from Selma to Montgomery on ‘‘Bloody Sunday’’ in 

protest against the denial of their right to vote, and were 

brutally assaulted by Alabama state troopers. 

(2) Beginning in 1964, members of the Student Nonviolent 

Coordinating Committee attempted to register African-Americans to vote throughout the state of Alabama. 

(3) These efforts were designed to ensure that every American citizen would be able to exercise their constitutional right 

to vote and have their voices heard. 

(4) By December of 1964, many of these efforts remained 

unsuccessful. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., working with leaders 

from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the 

Southern Christian Leadership Conference, began to organize 

protests throughout Alabama. 

(5) On March 7, 1965, over 500 voting rights marchers 

known as ‘‘Foot Soldiers’’ gathered on the Edmund Pettus 

Bridge in Selma, Alabama in peaceful protest of the denial 

of their most sacred and constitutionally protected right—the 

right to vote. 

(6) Led by John Lewis of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Rev. Hosea Williams of the Southern 

Christian Leadership Conference, these Foot Soldiers began 

the march towards the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery, 

Alabama. 

(7) As the Foot Soldiers crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, 

they were confronted by a wall of Alabama state troopers 

who brutally attacked and beat them. 

(8) Americans across the country witnessed this tragic turn 

of events as news stations broadcasted the brutality on a day 

that would be later known as ‘‘Bloody Sunday’’. 

(9) Two days later on Tuesday, March 9, 1965, nearly 

2,500 Foot Soldiers led by Dr. Martin Luther King risked 

their lives once more and attempted a second peaceful march 

John Lewis. 

Hosea Williams. 

Martin Luther 

King, Jr. 

31 USC 5111 

note. 

Mar. 7, 2015 

[H.R. 431] 


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PUBLIC LAW 114–5—MAR. 7, 2015 129 STAT. 79 

starting at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. This second attempted 

march was later known as ‘‘Turnaround Tuesday’’. 

(10) Fearing for the safety of these Foot Soldiers who 

received no protection from federal or state authorities during 

this second march, Dr. King led the marchers to the base 

of the Edmund Pettus Bridge and stopped. Dr. King kneeled 

and offered a prayer of solidarity and walked back to the 

church. 

(11) President Lyndon B. Johnson, inspired by the bravery 

and determination of these Foot Soldiers and the atrocities 

they endured, announced his plan for a voting rights bill aimed 

at securing the precious right to vote for all citizens during 

an address to Congress on March 15, 1965. 

(12) On March 17, 1965, one week after ‘‘Turnaround Tuesday’’, U.S. District Judge Frank M. Johnson ruled the Foot 

Soldiers had a First Amendment right to petition the government through peaceful protest, and ordered federal agents to 

provide full protection to the Foot Soldiers during the Selma 

to Montgomery Voting Rights March. 

(13) Judge Johnson’s decision overturned Alabama Governor George Wallace’s prohibition on the protest due to public 

safety concerns. 

(14) On March 21, 1965, under the court order, the U.S. 

Army, the federalized Alabama National Guard, and countless 

federal agents and marshals escorted nearly 8,000 Foot Soldiers 

from the start of their heroic journey in Selma, Alabama to 

their safe arrival on the steps of the Alabama State Capitol 

Building on March 25, 1965. 

(15) The extraordinary bravery and sacrifice these Foot 

Soldiers displayed in pursuit of a peaceful march from Selma 

to Montgomery brought national attention to the struggle for 

equal voting rights, and served as the catalyst for Congress 

to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which President Johnson 

signed into law on August 6, 1965. 

(16) To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Voting 

Rights Movement and the passage of the Voting Rights Act 

of 1965, it is befitting that Congress bestow the highest civilian 

honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, in 2015, to the Foot 

Soldiers who participated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday or the final Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March 

during March of 1965, which served as a catalyst for the Voting 

Rights Act of 1965. 

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the House 

of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate 

shall make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on 

behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to the 

Foot Soldiers who participated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, or the final Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March during 

March of 1965, which served as a catalyst for the Voting Rights 

Act of 1965. 

(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the presentation 

referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred 

to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with 

suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by 

the Secretary. 

Frank M. 

Johnson. 

Lyndon B. 

Johnson. 


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129 STAT. 80 PUBLIC LAW 114–5—MAR. 7, 2015 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 431 (S. 527): 

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 161 (2015): 

Feb. 11, considered and passed House. 

Mar. 2, considered and passed Senate. 

Æ 

(c) AWARD OF MEDAL.—Following the award of the gold medal 

described in subsection (a), the medal shall be given to the Selma 

Interpretative Center in Selma, Alabama, where it shall be available 

for display or temporary loan to be displayed elsewhere, as appropriate. 

SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the 

gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 under such regulations 

as the Secretary may prescribe, at a price sufficient to cover the 

cost thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, 

and overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal. 

SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursuant to this 

Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, 

United States Code. 

(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 5134 and 

5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under 

this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

Approved March 7, 2015. 


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