127 STAT. 446 PUBLIC LAW 113–11—MAY 24, 2013 

Public Law 113–11 

113th Congress 

An Act 

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Addie Mae Collins, Denise 

McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley to commemorate the lives they 

lost 50 years ago in the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, where 

these 4 little Black girls’ ultimate sacrifice served as a catalyst for the Civil 

Rights Movement. 

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) September 15, 2013, will mark 50 years since the lives 

of Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and 

Cynthia Wesley were suddenly taken by a bomb planted in 

the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. 

(2) The senseless and premature death of these 4 little 

Black girls sparked ‘‘The Movement that Changed the World’’. 

(3) On that tragic Sunday in September of 1963, the world 

took notice of the violence inflicted in the struggle for equal 

rights. 

(4) The fact that 4 innocent children lost their lives as 

they prepared for Sunday School shook the world’s conscience. 

(5) This tragedy galvanized the Civil Rights Movement 

and sparked a surge of momentum that helped secure the 

passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and later the Voting 

Rights Act of 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. 

(6) Justice was delayed for these 4 little Black girls and 

their families until 2002, 39 years after the bombing, when 

the last of the 4 Klansmen responsible for the bombing was 

charged and convicted of the crime. 

(7) The 4 little Black girls are emblematic of so many 

who have lost their lives for the cause of freedom and equality, 

including Virgil Ware and James Johnny Robinson who were 

children also killed within hours of the 1963 church bombing. 

(8) The legacy that these 4 little Black girls left will live 

on in the minds and hearts of us all for generations to come. 

(9) Their extraordinary sacrifice sparked real and lasting 

change as Congress began to aggressively pass legislation that 

ensured equality. 

(10) Sixteenth Street Baptist Church remains a powerful 

symbol of the movement for civil and human rights and will 

host the 50th anniversary ceremony on Sunday, September 

15, 2013. 

(11) It is befitting that Congress bestow the highest civilian 

honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, in 2013 to the 4 little 

31 USC 5111 

note. 

May 24, 2013 

[H.R. 360] 


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PUBLIC LAW 113–11—MAY 24, 2013 127 STAT. 447 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 360: 

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 159 (2013): 

Apr. 24, considered and passed House. 

May 9, considered and passed Senate. 

Æ 

Black girls, Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, posthumously in recognition of the 

50th commemoration of the historical significance of the 

bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. 

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 

commemorate the lives of Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole 

Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley. 

(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. 

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

described in subsection (a), the medal shall be given to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham, AL, 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 under section 2, at a price sufficient to cover 

the costs of the medal, including labor, materials, dies, use of 

machinery, and overhead expenses, and amounts received from 

the sale of such duplicates shall be deposited in the United States 

Mint Public Enterprise Fund. 

SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck under 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 May 24, 2013. 


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