I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2424

To authorize assistance for the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum 

and Justice Learning Center. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 11, 2003

Mr. CUMMINGS (for himself, Mr. BALLANCE, Mr. BOYD, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. 

CARDIN, Mr. COLE, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. 

FORD, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. FROST, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, 

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. 

HOUGHTON, Mr. HOYER, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. 

LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. LEE, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. LIPINSKI, 

Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. MEEKS of New 

York, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OWENS, 

Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. RUSH, Mr. RYAN

of Ohio, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. 

THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. 

WATERS, Mr. WYNN, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. WATT, 

Ms. WATSON, Mr. KUCINICH, and Mr. CLYBURN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in 

addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To authorize assistance for the National Great Blacks in 

Wax Museum and Justice Learning Center.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Great Black 

3 Americans Commemoration Act of 2003’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Black Americans have served honorably in 

7 the Congress, in senior executive branch positions, in 

8 the law, the judiciary and other fields, yet their 

9 record of service is not well known by the public, is 

10 not included in school history lessons, and is not 

11 adequately presented in the Nation’s museums. 

12 (2) The Great Blacks in Wax Museum, Inc. in 

13 Baltimore, Maryland, a nonprofit organization, is 

14 the Nation’s first wax museum presenting the his15 tory of great Black Americans, including those who 

16 have served in Congress, in senior executive branch 

17 positions, in the law, the judiciary and other fields, 

18 as well as others who have made significant con19 tributions to benefit the Nation. 

20 (3) The Great Blacks in Wax Museum, Inc. 

21 plans to expand its existing facilities to establish the 

22 National Great Blacks in Wax Museum and Justice 

23 Learning Center, which is intended to serve as a na24 tional museum and center for presentation of wax 

25 figures and related interactive educational exhibits 

26 portraying the history of great Black Americans. 
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1 (4) The wax medium has long been recognized 

2 as a unique and artistic means to record human his3 tory through preservation of the faces and person4 ages of people of prominence, and historically, wax 

5 exhibits were used to commemorate noted figures in 

6 ancient Egypt, Babylon, Greece, and Rome, in me7 dieval Europe, and in the art of the Italian renais8 sance. 

9 (5) The Great Blacks in Wax Museum, Inc. was 

10 founded in 1983 by Drs. Elmer and Joanne Martin, 

11 two Baltimore educators who used their personal 

12 savings to purchase wax figures, which they dis13 played in schools, churches, shopping malls, and fes14 tivals in the mid-Atlantic region. 

15 (6) The goal of the Martins was to test public 

16 reaction to the idea of a Black history wax museum 

17 and so positive was the response over time that the 

18 museum has been heralded by the public and the 

19 media as a national treasure. 

20 (7) The museum has been the subject of feature 

21 stories by CNN, the Wall Street Journal, the Balti22 more Sun, the Washington Post, the New York 

23 Times, the Chicago Sun Times, the Dallas Morning 

24 News, the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Afro 
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1 American Newspaper, Crisis, Essence Magazine, and 

2 others. 

3 (8) More than 300,000 people from across the 

4 Nation visit the museum annually. 

5 (9) The new museum will carry on the time6 honored artistic tradition of the wax medium; in par7 ticular, it will recognize the significant value of this 

8 medium to commemorate and appreciate great Black 

9 Americans whose faces and personages are not wide10 ly recognized. 

11 (10) The museum will employ the most skilled 

12 artisans in the wax medium, use state-of-the-art 

13 interactive exhibition technologies, and consult with 

14 museum professionals throughout the Nation, and 

15 its exhibits will feature the following: 

16 (A) Blacks who have served in the Senate 

17 and House of Representatives of the United 

18 States, including those who represented con19 stituencies in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Lou20 isiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Caro21 lina, and Virginia during the 19th century. 

22 (B) Blacks who have served in the judici23 ary, in the Department of Justice, as prominent 

24 attorneys, in law enforcement, and in the strug25 gle for equal rights under the law. 
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1 (C) Black veterans of various military en2 gagements, including the Buffalo Soldiers and 

3 Tuskegee Airmen, and the role of Blacks in the 

4 settlement of the western United States. 

5 (D) Blacks who have served in senior exec6 utive branch positions, including members of 

7 Presidents’ Cabinets, Assistant Secretaries and 

8 Deputy Secretaries of Federal agencies, and 

9 Presidential advisors. 

10 (E) Other Blacks whose accomplishments 

11 and contributions to human history during the 

12 last millennium and to the Nation through 

13 more than 400 years are exemplary, including 

14 Black educators, authors, scientists, inventors, 

15 athletes, clergy, and civil rights leaders. 

16 (11) The museum plans to develop collaborative 

17 programs with other museums, serve as a clearing18 house for training, technical assistance, and other 

19 resources involving use of the wax medium, and 

20 sponsor traveling exhibits to provide enriching mu21 seum experiences for communities throughout the 

22 Nation. 

23 (12) The museum has been recognized by the 

24 State of Maryland and the city of Baltimore as a 

25 preeminent facility for presenting and interpreting 
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1 Black history, using the wax medium in its highest 

2 artistic form. 

3 (13) The museum is located in the heart of an 

4 area designated as an empowerment zone, and is 

5 considered to be a catalyst for economic and cultural 

6 improvements in this economically disadvantaged 

7 area. 

8 SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR NATIONAL GREAT BLACKS IN WAX 

9 MUSEUM AND JUSTICE LEARNING CENTER. 

10 (a) ASSISTANCE FOR MUSEUM.—Subject to sub11 section (b), the Attorney General, acting through the Of12 fice of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice, 

13 shall, from amounts made available under subsection (c), 

14 make a grant to the Great Blacks in Wax Museum, Inc. 

15 in Baltimore, Maryland, to pay the Federal share of the 

16 costs of expanding and creating the National Great Blacks 

17 in Wax Museum and Justice Learning Center, including 

18 the cost of its design, planning, furnishing, and equipping. 

19 (b) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under 

21 subsection (a), the Great Blacks in Wax Museum, 

22 Inc. shall submit to the Attorney General a proposal 

23 for the use of the grant, which shall include detailed 

24 plans for the design, construction, furnishing, and 
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1 equipping of the National Great Blacks in Wax Mu2 seum and Justice Learning Center. 

3 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

4 the costs described in subsection (a) shall not exceed 

5 25 percent. 

6 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

8 $15,000,000, to remain available until expended.

Æ