IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 223 

Recognizing the significance of Atlanta, Georgia, as the cradle of the civil 

rights movement. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 10, 2023 

Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia (for himself, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, and Mr. 

DAVIS of Illinois) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the significance of Atlanta, Georgia, as the 

cradle of the civil rights movement. 

Whereas, in July 1881, a washerwoman strike of mostly 

Black women was one of the first major examples of the 

impact of Black labor in Atlanta and the power of coordinated, nonviolent organizing; 

Whereas, in 1909, Atlanta University Professor W.E.B. Du 

Bois was one of the founders of the National Association 

for the Advancement of Colored People; 

Whereas, on January 15, 1929, civil rights leader Dr. Martin 

Luther King, Jr., was born in Atlanta; 

Whereas, in 1946, African-American community leaders in 

Atlanta established the All Citizen’s Registration ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Mar 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR223.IH HR223

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•HRES 223 IH 

mittee (ACRC) to register voters and increase involvement in the political process; 

Whereas, in 1948, 8 African-American officers were hired to 

the Atlanta Police Department, desegregating the city’s 

police force; 

Whereas, in 1949, the Atlanta Negro Voters League (ANVL) 

was founded to coordinate political advocacy and bolster 

the power of African-American voters; 

Whereas, in 1956, Atlanta was the site of the ‘‘Sugar Bowl 

Riots’’, when Pittsburgh Panthers football player Bobby 

Grier became the first African American to play in a 

bowl game in the Deep South; 

Whereas, in 1957, Dr. King and Ralph David Abernathy 

formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference 

(SCLC) to develop and implement nonviolent protest 

strategies and advance the fight for equal voting rights; 

Whereas, on October 12, 1958, the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple was bombed by White supremacists due 

to Rabbi Jacob Rothschild, the Temple’s Rabbi, and its 

congregation’s active and vocal support for civil rights 

and integration; 

Whereas, in 1959, local activism led to the desegregation of 

Atlanta public transit services; 

Whereas, in 1960, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was headquartered in Atlanta and chaired 

by the honorable John Lewis, to focus the energy and efforts of students participating in the civil rights movement; 

Whereas, in 1960, the Atlanta University Center (AUC) established the Atlanta Student Movement to lead sit-ins to 

protest segregation in public facilities; 


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•HRES 223 IH 

Whereas, in 1960, Dr. King, along with 52 other activists, 

was arrested at an Atlanta department store lunch 

counter sit-in while protesting segregation; 

Whereas, in 1961, Morehouse College student Charles Black 

led demonstrations against the lack of African-American 

health care workers in Atlanta health facilities, eventually 

leading to the desegregation of Grady Memorial Hospital; 

Whereas the Atlanta-based SCLC was critical in securing the 

passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting 

Rights Act of 1965, highly consequential pieces of legislation that guarantee full rights and equal protection of the 

law for all Americans; 

Whereas, in 1964, the landmark Supreme Court case Heart 

of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States found that the 

Federal Government had the power to enforce the Civil 

Rights Act of 1964 and prohibit discrimination on the 

basis of race; 

Whereas political advocacy efforts in Atlanta were instrumental in promoting the passage of the Civil Rights Act 

of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the crown 

jewels of the civil rights movement; 

Whereas, in 1965, partially as a result of the successes of the 

Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 

1965, 11 Black people were elected to the Georgia House 

of Representatives, including Atlanta-based civil rights 

organizer Julian Bond; 

Whereas, in 1968, 150,000 people joined in Dr. King’s funeral procession through the streets of Atlanta, to honor 

his memory and demonstrate that further action was 

needed to advance the cause of equality; 


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•HRES 223 IH 

Whereas political advocacy efforts in Atlanta were instrumental in promoting the passage of the Civil Rights Act 

of 1968, parts of which are commonly called the Fair 

Housing Act, which prohibits housing discrimination on 

the basis of race, religion, nationality, disability, or sex; 

Whereas, in 1972, Andrew Young was elected to Congress 

from Atlanta, becoming the first Black representative 

from the Deep South since Reconstruction; 

Whereas, in 1973, Maynard Jackson was elected as Atlanta’s 

first African-American mayor, also becoming the first African-American mayor in the Deep South, providing inspiration to civil servants and voters across the United 

States; 

Whereas, in 1976, the Sweet Auburn Historical District in 

Atlanta was designated as a National Historic Landmark 

District for its significance as a prosperous AfricanAmerican neighborhood and center of commerce; 

Whereas, in 1977, Atlantan Andrew Young was appointed as 

the first Black United States Ambassador to the United 

Nations; 

Whereas, in 1981, the honorable John Lewis began his career 

as an elected official as a member of the Atlanta City 

Council; 

Whereas, in 1986, the honorable John Lewis was elected to 

represent Atlanta in the House of Representatives, where 

he would go on to serve for 33 years; 

Whereas Atlanta has ascended as a global city and a worldclass leader in business, entrepreneurship, athletics, 

transportation, politics, social equity, faith, culture, education, health, and science; 


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•HRES 223 IH 

Whereas Atlanta’s reputation for cohesive economic achievement has earned it the nickname ‘‘The City Too Busy to 

Hate’’; 

Whereas Atlanta is home to numerous stellar institutes of 

higher learning, including Morehouse College, Morehouse 

School of Medicine, Clark Atlanta University, Spelman 

College, Morris Brown College, and the Georgia Institute 

of Technology; and 

Whereas Atlanta continues to be recognized as a center of diversity, inclusivity, excellence, and social, economic, and 

educational opportunity for all: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) recognizes Atlanta’s significance as the cra3 dle of the civil rights movement for the city’s im4 mense contributions to the cause of equal rights; and 

5 (2) honors Atlanta’s role as a dynamic, vibrant 

6 city that continues to lead by example to show the 

7 success that is possible when Americans are given 

8 equal opportunities to pursue excellence. 

Æ 


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