I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3866 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of the pioneers and 

participants of the Civil Rights movement. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2012 

Mr. COHEN (for himself, Mr. FILNER, Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, Ms. 

MOORE, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. AL GREEN of 

Texas, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. RUSH, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. CARSON

of Indiana, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Ms. CHU, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. NORTON, Mr. HOLT, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

of Texas, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. PASTOR

of Arizona, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. COURTNEY, 

Mr. CARNAHAN, Mr. WELCH, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. HONDA, Mr. 

THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. DOYLE, Ms. WOOLSEY, 

Mr. TONKO, Mr. CLAY, Ms. RICHARDSON, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. 

HOLDEN, Ms. HAHN, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, 

Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. 

FATTAH, and Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, 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 award a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of the 

pioneers and participants of the Civil Rights movement. 

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


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3866 IH

1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds as follows: 

3 (1) In 1849, Harriet Tubman escaped from 

4 slavery. She was a major conductor on the Under5 ground Railroad and helped free hundreds of slaves. 

6 She was also a major advocate for Women’s Rights. 

7 (2) In 1850, the Supreme Court stated in the 

8 Dred Scott decision that Blacks, freed or enslaved, 

9 do not have citizenship rights. 

10 (3) In 1861, the American Civil War began. 

11 This war was fought because of issues between 

12 Northern and Southern States, including States’ 

13 rights versus Federal authority, westward expansion, 

14 and slavery. The Southern States began to secede 

15 from the Union. The war ended with the battle of 

16 Palmito Hill in 1865. 

17 (4) On January 1, 1863, President Abraham 

18 Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, 

19 which declared that ‘‘all persons held slaves within 

20 any States, or designated part of the State . . . 

21 shall forever be free’’. 

22 (5) In 1864, Sojourner Truth traveled to Wash23 ington, DC, to help integrate streetcars and was re24 ceived at the White House by President Abraham 

25 Lincoln. The same year, she was appointed to the 

26 National Freedmen’s Relief Association where she 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3866 IH

1 counseled former slaves, particularly in matters of 

2 resettlement. 

3 (6) On January 31, 1865, the 13th Amend4 ment, which abolished any form of slavery in the 

5 United States, was passed. It was ratified by the 

6 States on December 6, 1865. 

7 (7) On June 19, 1865, the news reached Gal8 veston, Texas, stating the war had ended and the 

9 enslaved were now free. 

10 (8) In 1892, Ida B. Wells Barnett began her 

11 anti-lynching campaign. She later wrote ‘‘Southern 

12 Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases’’. 

13 (9) In 1896, the Supreme Court established the 

14 ‘‘separate but equal’’ doctrine in Plessy v. Ferguson. 

15 (10) In July 1905, a group led by W.E.B. Du 

16 Bois, John Hope, Fredrick L. McGhee, and William 

17 Monroe Trotter met at the Fort Erie Hotel in Fort 

18 Erie, Ontario, opposite Buffalo, New York, to dis19 cuss full civil liberties, an end to racial discrimina20 tion, and recognition of human brotherhood. These 

21 29 Black intellectuals founded the ‘‘Niagara move22 ment’’, and the meeting ranks as a major turning 

23 point in African-American history. 

24 (11) On February 12, 1909, the National Asso25 ciation for the Advancement of Colored People 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3866 IH

1 (NAACP) was founded. W.E.B. Du Bois played a 

2 major role in helping form the NAACP. He was the 

3 associate director of research and editor of ‘‘The 

4 Crisis’’. Ida B. Wells and Marcy Church Terrell 

5 were the only two, Black women allowed to sign 

6 ‘‘The Call’’ and attend the first NAACP meeting. 

7 (12) In 1909, Ida B. Wells became the founder 

8 of the Anti-Lynching Crusade. 

9 (13) In 1915, the NAACP launches a nation10 wide campaign in opposition to the controversial 

11 film, ‘‘Birth of a Nation’’. 

12 (14) In 1919, the Memphis NAACP became the 

13 largest branch in the South. Pioneers of its legal ac14 tivism team included Hosea T. (H.T.) Lockard, 

15 Maxine and Vasco Smith, Russell Sugarmon, and 

16 A.W. Willis. Through the courts, they won cases 

17 that led to the desegregation of public transpor18 tation, of restaurants, and public facilities. 

19 (15) On August 25, 1925, A. Philip Randolph 

20 announced the formation of the Brotherhood of 

21 Sleeping Car Porters. This was the first major all 

22 Black labor union. 

23 (16) In February 1926, the second week in the 

24 month was marked as Negro History Week by Car25 ter G. Woodson, the father of Black history. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3866 IH

1 (17) In 1935, NAACP lawyers Charles Ham2 ilton Houston and Thurgood Marshall won a legal 

3 battle to admit a Black student to the University of 

4 Maryland. 

5 (18) In 1936, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune be6 came the first African-American woman to head a 

7 Federal office, the Division of Negro Affairs of the 

8 Division of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Ad9 ministration. 

10 (19) On April 3, 1939, in an effort led by civil 

11 rights leaders, Walter White (NAACP), A. Philip 

12 Randolph, and Judge William H. Hastie, Public 

13 Law 18 was passed by Congress. This bill contained 

14 an amendment that designated funds to train Afri15 can-American pilots. 

16 (20) In 1941, Bayard Rustin, A. Philip Ran17 dolph, and A.J. Muste proposed a march on Wash18 ington to end segregation and racial discrimination 

19 in the Armed Forces. The march never happened be20 cause President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 

21 8802 (the Fair Employment Act). 

22 (21) In March 1941, after years of being pres23 sured by civil rights organizations, an all African24 American pursuit squadron (99th Pursuit) in 

25 Tuskegee, Alabama, was formed. These gentlemen 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 3866 IH

1 were known as the Tuskegee Airmen. The Tuskegee 

2 Airmen were well respected fighter groups in World 

3 War II and led the way to the United States mili4 tary being fully integrated. The airmen were led by 

5 Captain Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. They won their first 

6 aerial victory on July 2, 1943, against the 

7 Luftwaffe. 

8 (22) In 1942, the Congress of Racial Equality 

9 (CORE) was founded by a group of students at the 

10 University of Chicago. Founding members included 

11 James L. Farmer, Jr., George Houser, James R. 

12 Robinson, and Bernice Fisher. It is the third oldest 

13 civil rights group in the United States. Roy Innis is 

14 the current president and has been leading the orga15 nization since 1964. 

16 (23) In December 1943, Paul Roberson ad17 dressed Major League Baseball owners about inte18 grating their teams. 

19 (24) In 1946, the NAACP effort to end seg20 regation in interstate bus transportation was sup21 ported by the Supreme Court ruling in Morgan v. 

22 Virginia. 

23 (25) On April 9, 1947, CORE tests Morgan v. 

24 Virginia (outlawing segregation during bus travVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:08 Feb 03, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3866.IH H3866

rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 3866 IH

1 eling) and sends a group of Freedom Riders on a 

2 Journey of Reconciliation around the South. 

3 (26) On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson be4 came the first Black Major League Baseball player. 

5 (27) On July 26, 1948, President Truman 

6 signs into act Executive Order 9981, establishing 

7 equality in the Armed Forces regardless of race, 

8 color, religion, or national origin. 

9 (28) On June 8, 1953, the court ruled segrega10 tion in eating places was unconstitutional in Wash11 ington, DC. Mary Church Terrell, Clark F. King, 

12 Essie Thompson, Arthur F. Elmer, and Attorney 

13 Ringgold Hart played an instrumental role in this 

14 ruling. 

15 (29) On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court 

16 ruled in favor of desegregating the school systems in 

17 the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education of 

18 Topeka, Kansas. The gentlemen that worked on this 

19 landmark case were: Thurgood Marshall, NAACP 

20 Legal Defense Fund chief counsel, George E.C. 

21 Hayes, James M. Nabrit, Jack Greenberg, Robert L. 

22 Carter, Charles Scott, and Charles E. Bledsoe. 

23 (30) On May 7, 1955, Rev. George Lee was 

24 murdered in Belzoni, Mississippi. Rev. Lee was one 

25 of the first Black people registered to vote in HumVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:06 Feb 03, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3866.IH H3866

rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 3866 IH

1 phreys County and used his pulpit and his printing 

2 press to urge others to vote. He was offered protec3 tion if he agreed to end his voter registration efforts. 

4 Rev. Lee refused to end those efforts. 

5 (31) On August 13, 1955, Lamar Smith, who 

6 had organized Blacks to vote in a recent election, 

7 was shot and killed by a White man on the court8 house lawn in Brookhaven, Mississippi, while dozens 

9 of people watched. The killer was never indicted be10 cause no one would admit they saw a White man 

11 shoot a Black man. 

12 (32) On August 28, 1955, Emmett Louis Till, 

13 a 14-year-old boy visiting Mississippi from Chicago, 

14 was beaten, shot and his body was dumped in the 

15 Tallahatchie River for reportedly flirting with a 

16 White woman in a store. Till’s mother had an open 

17 casket public funeral, which was attended by thou18 sands and images of his mutilated body were pub19 lished in magazines and newspapers, shining light on 

20 the condition of Black civil rights in the South. 

21 (33) On October 22, 1955, John Earl Reese, 

22 16, was shot and killed while dancing in a cafe ́ when 

23 White men shot into the windows. The shootings 

24 were part of an attempt by Whites to terrorize 

25 Blacks into giving up plans for a new school. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 3866 IH

1 (34) On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was ar2 rested for refusing to give up her seat to a White 

3 passenger. Her action sparked the Montgomery bus 

4 boycott, which was led by Dr. King. The buses were 

5 finally desegregated on December 21, 1956. 

6 (35) January 23, 1957, Willie Edwards, Jr., a 

7 truck driver, was forced at gunpoint to jump off a 

8 bridge by four Klansmen in Montgomery, Alabama. 

9 The men mistook Edwards for another man who 

10 they believed was dating a White woman. 

11 (36) Between January and February 1957, the 

12 Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) 

13 was formed by Martin Luther King, Jr., Bayard 

14 Rustin, Charles Steele, Joseph Lowery, Fred 

15 Shuttlesworth, Ella Baker, and Rev. Ralph Aber16 nathy. Andrew Jackson Young served as vice presi17 dent and was a top aide to Dr. King. 

18 (37) In 1957, Dr. Dorothy Irene Height was 

19 the fourth elected president of the National Council 

20 of Negro Women and held the position from 1957– 

21 1998. 

22 (38) In September 1957, the Little Rock Nine 

23 integrated Central High School in Little Rock, Ar24 kansas. The Little Rock Nine consisted of Ernest 

25 Green, Elizabeth Eckford, Jefferson Thomas, TerVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:08 Feb 03, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3866.IH H3866

rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 3866 IH

1 rence Roberts, Carlotta Walls LaNier, Minnijean 

2 Brown, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Thelma Mothershed, 

3 and Melba Pattillo Beals. 

4 (39) In 1957, civil rights leader, Maxine Smith 

5 began her fight for civil rights. She was denied ad6 mission to Memphis State because she was Black. 

7 This began her relationship with the NAACP where 

8 she served as a volunteer executive secretary. She 

9 coordinated sit-ins, protests, and voters’ registration 

10 drives during her tenure. 

11 (40) On April 25, 1959, Mack Charles Parker, 

12 23, was beaten, shot and thrown in the Pearl River 

13 in Poplarville, Mississippi, by a masked mob. He was 

14 accused of raping a White woman and was taken 

15 from his cell three days before his case was set for 

16 trial. 

17 (41) In, 1959, Russell Sugarmon ran for public 

18 works commissioner in a racially charged race. He 

19 was the first African-American to make a serious bid 

20 for a major city office in Memphis, Tennessee. 

21 (42) In 1960, Harry Belafonte was named a 

22 cultural advisor to the Peace Corps under President 

23 John F. Kennedy. Belafonte was one of Dr. King’s 

24 closest confidants. He paid Dr. King’s bail when he 

25 was in a Birmingham jail. He helped finance the 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 3866 IH

1 Freedom Rides, voters’ registrations drive, and 

2 helped organize the March on Washington in 1963. 

3 (43) On February 1, 1960, four Black students 

4 (Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, Jr., 

5 and David Richmond) from North Carolina Agricul6 tural and Technical College began the Greensboro 

7 sit-in. By the end of the first week, other cities were 

8 participating in the sit-in movement in other cities 

9 in North Carolina. Many of these sit-ins were suc10 cessful in desegregating lunch counters and public 

11 places. 

12 (44) On February 13, 1960, a nonviolent sit-in 

13 effort began in Nashville, Tennessee, to end segrega14 tion at lunch counters in downtown Nashville. The 

15 Nashville Student Movement and the Nashville 

16 Christian Leadership Council coordinated the sit-in 

17 campaign. The participants endured verbal and 

18 physical abuse. After weeks of turmoil, store owners 

19 and protest leaders were able to reach an agreement. 

20 The Nashville sit-in movement led to it being the 

21 first major city to begin desegregation of its public 

22 facilities when several stores desegregated their 

23 counters on May 10, 1960. 

24 (45) On March 19, 1960, sit-ins in Memphis 

25 were launched by students from LeMoyne College 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 3866 IH

1 and Owen Junior College at the main public library 

2 and local department stores. Protests in Memphis 

3 continued throughout the summer of 1960 and re4 sulted in the integration of the local bus lines and 

5 the City’s parks. It was led by Marion Barry, Grace 

6 Meacham, and other SNCC members. 

7 (46) On April 16, 1960, 150 college students in 

8 the North and the South played an important role 

9 in forcing the inception of desegregation by forming 

10 the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee 

11 (SNCC) which led to the national sit-in effort, the 

12 ‘‘Freedom Rides’’ in 1961, and the historic March 

13 on Washington in 1963. Several of the SNCC’s 

14 chairmen included Marion Barry, Charles F. 

15 McDew, Julian Bond, Stokely Carmichael, and John 

16 Lewis led the organization during its early period. 

17 By the end of April 1960, a sit-in had occurred in 

18 every Southern State. 

19 (47) On May 4, 1961, student volunteers began 

20 a bus movement from Washington, DC, to southern 

21 States to test out the desegregation laws in inter22 state travel facilities. They were later known as the 

23 ‘‘Freedom Riders.’’ 

24 (48) On September 25, 1961, Herbert Lee was 

25 killed in Liberty, Mississippi, by a State legislator 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 3866 IH

1 who claimed self-defense and was never arrested. He 

2 worked with civil rights leader Bob Moses to help 

3 register Black voters. 

4 (49) In 1961, the ‘‘Memphis 13’’ was the first 

5 group of Black students to integrate four Memphis 

6 City Schools: Bruce, Gordon, Rozelle, and Spring7 dale elementary. The 13 students were Joyce White, 

8 Menelik Fombi (formerly Michael Willis), Dwania 

9 Kyles, Harry Williams, Sheila Malone Conway, 

10 Sharon Malone, E.C. Freeman Fentress, Leandrew 

11 Wiggins, Deborah Holt, Pamela Mayes, Alvin Free12 man, Jacqueline Moore, and Clarence Williams. 

13 (50) In 1961, Whitney Young became executive 

14 director of the National Urban League and ex15 panded the organization’s role in the Civil Rights 

16 movement. He proposed a domestic ‘‘Marshall Plan’’ 

17 to provide Federal aid to cities and portions of the 

18 plan were included in President Lyndon B. John19 son’s War on Poverty. Young was also one of the 

20 March on Washington organizers. 

21 (51) On April 9, 1962, Cpl. Roman 

22 Ducksworth, Jr., a military police officer stationed 

23 in Maryland, was ordered off a bus by a police offi24 cer and shot to death in Taylorsville, Mississippi. He 

25 was on leave to visit his sick wife. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 3866 IH

1 (52) On September 30, 1962, after a 16-month 

2 legal battle to integrate the University of Mis3 sissippi, United States marshals escorted James 

4 Meredith on to the school’s campus to register him 

5 for the fall semester. Paul Guihard, a reporter for 

6 a French news service, was shot and killed by a 

7 White mob during protests over the admission of 

8 Meredith to the University. 

9 (53) On April 23, 1963, William Lewis Moore, 

10 a postman from Baltimore, was shot and killed dur11 ing a one man march against segregation. He was 

12 planning to deliver a letter to the governor of Mis13 sissippi urging an end to intolerance. 

14 (54) On June 12, 1963, Medgar Evers, Mis15 sissippi’s NAACP field secretary, was murdered out16 side his home in Jackson, Mississippi. 

17 (55) On June 29, 1963, Malcolm X led the 

18 Unity Rally in Harlem, which was one of the largest 

19 civil rights events. 

20 (56) On August 28, 1963, the March on Wash21 ington for Jobs and Freedom was held in front of 

22 the Lincoln Memorial. The march was organized and 

23 coordinated by Bayard Rustin, Dr. Dorothy Irene 

24 Height, Harry Belafonte, A. Philip Randolph, and 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 3866 IH

1 others. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his ‘‘I 

2 Have a Dream’’ speech to nearly 200,000 people. 

3 (57) On September 15, 1963, four little girls 

4 (Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, 

5 and Addie Mae Collins) were murdered when a bomb 

6 went off at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Bir7 mingham, Alabama. Virgil Lamar Ware, 13, was 

8 shot to death by White teenagers who had come 

9 from a segregationist rally held after the church 

10 bombing. 

11 (58) On January 31, 1964, Louis Allen was 

12 killed in Liberty, Mississippi, on the day he was 

13 making final arrangements to move north. Allen wit14 nessed the murder of civil rights worker Herbert Lee 

15 and endured years of harassment, threats, and being 

16 jailed. 

17 (59) On March 23, 1964, Johnnie Mae Chap18 pell was killed in Jacksonville, Florida, as she 

19 walked along a roadside while men were looking for 

20 a Black person to shoot after a day of racial unrest. 

21 (60) On April 7, 1964, Rev. Bruce Klunder was 

22 crushed to death when a bulldozer backed over him. 

23 He was protesting the building of a segregated 

24 school. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 3866 IH

1 (61) In 1964, SNCC helped organize the Mis2 sissippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), which 

3 challenged the legitimacy and seating of Mis4 sissippi’s officially recognized Democratic Party. 

5 During the ‘‘Freedom Summer’’, Harry Belafonte 

6 helped fund the SNCC’s voting registration efforts. 

7 (62) In 1964, Fannie Lou Hamer established 

8 the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). 

9 She also delivered a national televised speech to the 

10 Credentials Committee discussing the hardship activ11 ists were experiencing with voting. 

12 (63) In 1964, Mr. H.T. Lockard, a Memphis 

13 civil rights pioneer, was elected to the old Shelby 

14 County Quarterly Court (County Commission). 

15 From there he became the first Black man to join 

16 a governor’s cabinet under Governor Buford Elling17 ton from 1967 through 1971. He served on the Na18 tional Civil Rights Museum Board from 1989 

19 through 1999. 

20 (64) On May 2, 1964, Henry Hezekiah Dee and 

21 Charles Eddie Moore were killed in Meadville, Mis22 sissippi, by Klansmen who believed the two were 

23 part of a plot to arm Blacks in the area (there was 

24 no such plot). 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 3866 IH

1 (65) On June 21, 1964, civil rights workers 

2 James Chaney (a Mississippian resident), Andrew 

3 Goodman, and Michael Schwerner were assisting 

4 with helping African-Americans register to vote dur5 ing Freedom Summer. After being arrested by the 

6 police and released after several hours, they were 

7 murdered by the Ku Klux Klan. Their bodies were 

8 found near Philadelphia, Mississippi. 

9 (66) On July 2, 1964, President Johnson 

10 signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

11 (67) On July 11, 1964, Lt. Col. Lemuel Penn, 

12 a Washington, DC, educator was shot to death by 

13 Klansmen in a passing car when he was driving 

14 home from United States Army Reserves training in 

15 Colbert, Georgia. 

16 (68) In 1965, Benjamin Hooks became the first 

17 Black criminal court judge in Tennessee history. 

18 (69) In 1965, Dr. Dorothy Irene Height was 

19 named the first director of the YWCA’s Center for 

20 Racial Justice. 

21 (70) On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was 

22 shot to death in Harlem, New York. 

23 (71) On February 26, 1965, Jimmie Lee Jack24 son was beaten and shot by State troopers as he 

25 tried to protect his grandfather and mother from a 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 3866 IH

1 trooper attack on civil rights marchers in Marion, 

2 Alabama. 

3 (72) On March 7, 1965, ‘‘Bloody Sunday’’ took 

4 place as 600 marchers tried to cross the Edmund 

5 Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in support of vot6 ing rights and were attacked by State and local po7 lice. This effort was led by John Lewis of SNCC and 

8 the Rev. Hosea Williams of SCLC. It took the 

9 marchers three times to finally cross over the Pettus 

10 Bridge. 

11 (73) On March 11, 1965, Rev. James Reeb, a 

12 Unitarian minister from Boston, was beaten to 

13 death by White men while he walked down a Selma 

14 Street. Rev. Reeb was one of the many White clergy15 men who joined the Selma marchers after the attack 

16 by State troopers at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. 

17 (74) On March 25, 1965, Viola Gregg Luizzo, 

18 a housewife and mother from Detroit, drove alone to 

19 Alabama to help with the Selma march after seeing 

20 televised reports of the attack at the Edmund Pettus 

21 Bridge. She was driving marchers back to Selma 

22 from Montgomery when she was shot and killed by 

23 a Klansman in a passing car. 

24 (75) On June 2, 1965, Oneal Moore was killed 

25 when he and his partner were shot from a passing 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 3866 IH

1 car. Moore was one of two Black deputies hired by 

2 White officials to appease civil rights demands. 

3 (76) On July 9, 1965, the Voting Rights Act of 

4 1965 was passed by Congress. 

5 (77) On July 18, 1965, Willie Brewster was 

6 shot and killed by White men on his way home from 

7 work in Anniston, Alabama. The men belonged to 

8 the National States Rights Party, a violent neo-Nazi 

9 group whose members had been involved in church 

10 bombings and murders of Blacks. 

11 (78) On August 20, 1965, Jonathan Myrick 

12 Daniels, an Episcopal Seminary student in Boston, 

13 was shot and killed by a deputy sheriff in 

14 Hayneville, Alabama. Daniels came to Alabama to 

15 help with Black voter registration in Lowndes Coun16 ty. 

17 (79) On September 24, 1965, President John18 son issues Executive Order 11246 enforcing affirma19 tive action. 

20 (80) In 1966, Constance Baker Motley becomes 

21 first African-American female appointed to the Fed22 eral bench. 

23 (81) On January 3, 1966, Samuel Leamno 

24 Younge, Jr., a student civil rights activist, was shot 

25 and killed by a White gas station owner after an arVerDate Mar 15 2010 05:08 Feb 03, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3866.IH H3866

rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 3866 IH

1 gument over segregated restrooms in Tuskegee, Ala2 bama. 

3 (82) On January 10, 1966, Vernon Ferdinand 

4 Dahmer, a wealthy businessman, died from severe 

5 burns when his home was firebombed in Hatties6 burg, Mississipi. Dahmer offered to pay toll taxes 

7 for those who couldn’t afford the fee required to 

8 vote. 

9 (83) On June 10, 1966, Ben Chester White, a 

10 caretaker on a plantation who had no involvement in 

11 civil rights work, was murdered by Klansmen who 

12 thought they could divert attention from a civil 

13 rights march by killing a Black person in Natchez, 

14 Mississippi. 

15 (84) On July 30, 1966, Clarence Triggs, a 

16 bricklayer who attended civil rights meetings spon17 sored by the Congress of Racial Equality, was found 

18 dead on the roadside with a gunshot through the 

19 head in Bogalusa, Louisiana. 

20 (85) On November 8, 1966, Edward Brooke, a 

21 Republican from Massachusetts, was the first Black 

22 United States Senator in 85 years. 

23 (86) On October 15 1966, the Black Panthers 

24 are founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 3866 IH

1 (87) On February 27, 1967, Wharlest Jackson, 

2 treasurer of his local NAACP Chapter in Natchez, 

3 Mississippi, was killed when a bomb that was plant4 ed in his car exploded. The bomb was planted in his 

5 car after Jackson was promoted to a position pre6 viously reserved for Whites. 

7 (88) On April 4, 1967, exactly one year before 

8 his death, Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered ‘‘Be9 yond Vietnam’’ at the New York City Riverside 

10 Church. In his speech he condemned the United 

11 States role in the war. He also stated that the 

12 United States needed to reconsider their morals. 

13 King was against the war because the money could 

14 have been used to fight the war on poverty. He was 

15 also against African-Americans fighting for a coun16 try that treated them as second-class citizens. 

17 (89) On May 12, 1967, Benjamin Brown, a 

18 former civil rights organizer, was killed by stray 

19 gunshots from police into a crowd when watching a 

20 student protest in Jackson, Mississippi. 

21 (90) On August 30, 1967, Thurgood Marshall 

22 was named the first African-American to the Su23 preme Court. 

24 (91) On February 8, 1968, Samuel Ephesians 

25 Hammond, Jr., Delano Herman Middleton, and 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 3866 IH

1 Henry Ezekial Smith were shot and killed by police 

2 who fired on student demonstrators at the South 

3 Carolina State College Campus in Orangeburg, 

4 South Carolina. 

5 (92) On March 29, 1968, Martin Luther King, 

6 Jr., went to Memphis, Tennessee, to help support 

7 Black sanitary public workers represented by the 

8 American Federation of State, County and Munic9 ipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1733 in their fight 

10 for better wages and treatment. The march that was 

11 organized for the workers became violent and unsuc12 cessful. 

13 (93) On April 3, 1968, in an effort to have a 

14 peaceful march for the sanitation workers, Martin 

15 Luther King, Jr., returned to Memphis. The night 

16 before his death he delivered ‘‘I’ve Been to the 

17 Mountaintop’’ at Mason Temple. 

18 (94) On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, 

19 Jr., was murdered outside his room at the Lorraine 

20 Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. 

21 (95) On April 11, 1968, President Johnson 

22 signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968. 

23 (96) In May 1968, Ralph Abernathy took over 

24 the SCLC Poor People’s Campaign after the death 

25 of Dr. King. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 3866 IH

1 (97) In 1971, Morris Dees, Jr., and Joseph J. 

2 Levin, Jr., founded the Southern Poverty Law Cen3 ter (SPLC). Julian Bond was named the first presi4 dent. With the mission of seeking justice and equal5 ity for society’s most vulnerable, SPLC has shut 

6 down some of the Nation’s most dangerous hate 

7 groups by winning crushing, multimillion-dollar jury 

8 verdicts on behalf of their victims. 

9 (98) On April 20, 1971, the Supreme Court de10 cision in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of 

11 Education, initiates a busing effort to integrate pub12 lic school systems. 

13 (99) In 1972, Benjamin Hooks was appointed 

14 as one of the five commissioners of the Federal 

15 Communications Commission (FCC) under the 

16 Nixon administration. 

17 (100) In February 1976, Negro History Week 

18 was expanded to Black History Month. 

19 (101) On November 3, 1983, the Martin Lu20 ther King, Jr., Federal holiday was established. 

21 (102) In 1987, Morris Dees won a $7 million 

22 judgment for the mother of Michael Donald, a Black 

23 lynching victim in Mobile, Alabama, in a suit against 

24 the Ku Klux Klan. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 3866 IH

1 (103) On March 22, 1988, Congress passes the 

2 Civil Rights Restoration Act over President Rea3 gan’s veto. 

4 (104) On October 1, 1989, Army General Colin 

5 Powell becomes the first Black to serve as chairman 

6 of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

7 (105) On July 5, 1991, the National Civil 

8 Rights Museum opens at King’s assassination site in 

9 Memphis. 

10 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

11 (a) AWARD AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of the 

12 House of Representatives and the President pro tempore 

13 of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the 

14 award, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal of ap15 propriate design in honor of the pioneers and participants 

16 of the Civil Rights movement, collectively, in recognition 

17 of their personal sacrifice and service to their country. 

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

19 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 

20 Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec21 retary’’) shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, 

22 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec23 retary. 

24 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
25 

•HR 3866 IH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 

2 gold medal referred to in subsection (a) in honor of 

3 the pioneers and participants of the Civil Rights 

4 Movement, the gold medal shall be given to the 

5 Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be displayed. 

6 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

7 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 

8 make the gold medal received under this paragraph 

9 available for display elsewhere, particularly at other 

10 locations associated with the Civil Rights Movement. 

11 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

12 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre13 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

14 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 2, at a price 

15 sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 

16 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 

17 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

18 Medals struck pursuant to this Act are National med19 als for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 

20 Code. 

21 SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

22 SALE. 

23 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 

24 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

25 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be necVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:34 Feb 03, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3866.IH H3866

rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 3866 IH

1 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 

2 to this Act. 

3 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

4 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

5 3 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

6 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS