II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 360 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 25, 2013 

Received 

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. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

HR 360 RDS 

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 The Congress Finds the following: 

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

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

7 Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley were sud8 denly taken by a bomb planted in the Sixteenth 

9 Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. 

10 (2) The senseless and premature death of these 

11 4 little Black girls sparked ‘‘The Movement that 

12 Changed the World’’. 

13 (3) On that tragic Sunday in September of 

14 1963, the world took notice of the violence inflicted 

15 in the struggle for equal rights. 

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

17 lives as they prepared for Sunday School shook the 

18 world’s conscience. 

19 (5) This tragedy galvanized the Civil Rights 

20 Movement and sparked a surge of momentum that 

21 helped secure the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 

22 1964 and later the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by 

23 President Lyndon B. Johnson. 

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

25 girls and their families until 2002, 39 years after 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

HR 360 RDS 

1 the bombing, when the last of the 4 Klansmen re2 sponsible for the bombing was charged and convicted 

3 of the crime. 

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

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

6 freedom and equality, including Virgil Ware and 

7 James Johnny Robinson who were children also 

8 killed within hours of the 1963 church bombing. 

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

10 will live on in the minds and hearts of us all for gen11 erations to come. 

12 (9) Their extraordinary sacrifice sparked real 

13 and lasting change as Congress began to aggres14 sively pass legislation that ensured equality. 

15 (10) Sixteenth Street Baptist Church remains a 

16 powerful symbol of the movement for civil and 

17 human rights and will host the 50th anniversary 

18 ceremony on Sunday, September 15, 2013. 

19 (11) It is befitting that Congress bestow the 

20 highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold 

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

22 Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cyn23 thia Wesley, posthumously in recognition of the 50th 

24 commemoration of the historical significance of the 

25 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

HR 360 RDS 

1 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

2 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

3 the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tem4 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

6 medal of appropriate design to commemorate the lives of 

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

8 Cynthia Wesley. 

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

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

11 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec12 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

13 devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Sec14 retary. 

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

16 gold medal described in subsection (a), the medal shall be 

17 given to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Bir18 mingham, AL, where it shall be available for display or 

19 temporary loan to be displayed elsewhere, as appropriate. 

20 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

21 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

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

23 sufficient to cover the costs of the medal, including labor, 

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

25 and amounts received from the sale of such duplicates 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

HR 360 RDS 

1 shall be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enter2 prise Fund. 

3 SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

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

5 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

6 of title 31, United States Code. 

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

8 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

9 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

10 items. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 24, 2013. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS