II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 186 

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

Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, in recognition 

of the 50th anniversary of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist 

Church, where the 4 little Black girls lost their lives, which served 

as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 30, 2013 

Mr. SHELBY (for himself and Mr. SESSIONS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Addie 

Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, in recognition of the 50th anniversary of 

the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, 

where the 4 little Black girls lost their lives, which served 

as a catalyst for 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, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) September 15, 2013, will mark 50 years 

2 since the lives of Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, 

3 Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, known as 

4 the ‘‘4 little Black girls’’, were suddenly taken by a 

5 bomb planted in the Sixteenth Street Baptist 

6 Church in Birmingham, Alabama. 

7 (2) The senseless and premature death of the 

8 4 little Black girls sparked ‘‘The Movement that 

9 Changed the World’’. 

10 (3) On that tragic Sunday in September of 

11 1963, the world took notice of the violence inflicted 

12 in the struggle for equal rights. 

13 (4) The fact that 4 innocent children lost their 

14 lives as they prepared for Sunday School shook the 

15 world’s conscience. 

16 (5) This tragedy galvanized the Civil Rights 

17 Movement and sparked a surge of momentum that 

18 helped secure the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 

19 1964 and later the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 

20 which were signed into law by President Lyndon B. 

21 Johnson. 

22 (6) Justice was delayed for these 4 little Black 

23 girls and their families until 2002, 39 years after 

24 the bombing, when the last of the Klansmen respon25 sible for the bombing was convicted of the crime. 


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1 (7) The 4 little Black girls are emblematic of 

2 so many who have lost their lives for the cause of 

3 freedom and equality, including Virgil Ware and 

4 Johnny Robinson, who were children also killed 

5 within hours of the 1963 church bombing. 

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

7 will live on in the minds and hearts of us all for gen8 erations to come. 

9 (9) Their extraordinary sacrifice sparked real 

10 and lasting change as Congress began to aggres11 sively pass legislation that ensured equality. 

12 (10) Sixteenth Street Baptist Church remains a 

13 powerful symbol of the movement for civil and 

14 human rights and will host the 50th anniversary 

15 ceremony on Sunday, September 15, 2013. 

16 (11) It is befitting that Congress bestow the 

17 highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold 

18 Medal, in 2013 to the 4 little Black girls, Addie Mae 

19 Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cyn20 thia Wesley, posthumously in recognition of the 50th 

21 anniversary of the historical significance of the 

22 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. 

23 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

24 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

25 the House of Representatives and the President Pro TemVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:11 Feb 07, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S186.IS S186

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1 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

2 for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold 

3 medal of appropriate design to commemorate the lives of 

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

5 Cynthia Wesley. 

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

7 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

8 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec9 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

10 devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Sec11 retary. 

12 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

13 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

14 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 

15 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

16 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 

17 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 

18 and the cost of the gold medal. 

19 SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

20 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck under 

21 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

22 of title 31, United States Code. 

23 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

24 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 


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1 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

2 items. 

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

4 SALE. 

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

6 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

7 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec8 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 

9 to this Act. 

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

11 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

12 3 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

13 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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