II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 586 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 23, 2009 

Received 

AN ACT 

To direct the Librarian of Congress and the Secretary of 

the Smithsonian Institution to carry out a joint project 

at the Library of Congress and the National Museum 

of African American History and Culture to collect video 

and audio recordings of personal histories and 

testimonials of individuals who participated in the Civil 

Rights movement, and for other purposes. 


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HR 586 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Civil Rights History 

5 Project Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) A fundamental principle of American de9 mocracy is that individuals should stand up for their 

10 rights and beliefs and fight for justice. 

11 (2) The actions of those who participated in the 

12 Civil Rights movement from the 1950s through the 

13 1960s are a shining example of this principle in ac14 tion, demonstrated in events as varied as the Mont15 gomery Bus Boycott, the sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, 

16 the March on Washington, the drive for voting 

17 rights in Mississippi, and the March to Selma. 

18 (3) While the Civil Rights movement had many 

19 visible leaders, including Thurgood Marshall, Dr. 

20 Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks, there 

21 were many others whose impact and experience were 

22 just as important to the cause but who are not as 

23 well known. 

24 (4) The participants in the Civil Rights move25 ment possess an invaluable resource in their firstVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:55 Apr 25, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H586.RDS H586

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1 hand memories of the movement, and the recording 

2 of the retelling of their stories and memories will 

3 provide a rich, detailed history of our Nation during 

4 an important and tumultuous period. 

5 (5) It is in the Nation’s interest to undertake 

6 a project to collect oral histories of individuals from 

7 the Civil Rights movement so future generations will 

8 be able to learn of their struggle and sacrifice 

9 through primary-source, eyewitness material. A co10 ordinated Federal project would also focus attention 

11 on the efforts undertaken by various public and pri12 vate entities to collect and interpret articles in all 

13 formats relating to the Civil Rights movement, and 

14 serve as a model for future projects undertaken in 

15 museums, libraries, and universities throughout the 

16 Nation. 

17 (6) The Library of Congress and the Smithso18 nian Institution are appropriate repositories to col19 lect, preserve, and make available to the public a col20 lection of these oral histories. The Library and 

21 Smithsonian have expertise in the management of 

22 documentation projects, and experience in the devel23 opment of cultural and educational programs for the 

24 public. 


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1 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to create 

2 a new federally sponsored, authorized, and funded project 

3 that will coordinate at a national level the collection of 

4 video and audio recordings of personal histories and 

5 testimonials of individuals who participated in the Amer6 ican Civil Rights movement that will build upon and com7 plement previous and ongoing documentary work on this 

8 subject, and to assist and encourage local efforts to pre9 serve the memories of such individuals so that Americans 

10 of all current and future generations may hear from them 

11 directly and better appreciate the sacrifices they made. 

12 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT PROJECT AT LIBRARY 

13 OF CONGRESS AND NATIONAL MUSEUM OF 

14 AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE 

15 TO COLLECT VIDEO AND AUDIO RECORDINGS 

16 OF HISTORIES OF PARTICIPANTS IN AMER17 ICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROJECT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within the limits of avail20 able funds, the Librarian of Congress (hereafter re21 ferred to as the ‘‘Librarian’’) and the Secretary of 

22 the Smithsonian Institution (hereafter referred to as 

23 the ‘‘Secretary)’’, acting jointly, shall establish an 

24 oral history project— 


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1 (A) to survey, during the initial phase of 

2 the project, collections of audio and video re3 cordings of the reminiscences of participants in 

4 the Civil Rights movement that are housed in 

5 archives, libraries, museums, and other edu6 cational institutions, as well as ongoing docu7 mentary work, in order to augment and com8 plement these endeavors and avoid duplication 

9 of effort; 

10 (B) to solicit, reproduce, and collect— 

11 (i) video and audio recordings of per12 sonal histories and testimonials of individ13 uals who participated in the Civil Rights 

14 movement, and 

15 (ii) visual and written materials (such 

16 as letters, diaries, photographs, and 

17 ephemera) relevant to the personal his18 tories of individuals; 

19 (C) to create a collection of the recordings 

20 and other materials obtained, and to catalog 

21 and index the collection in a manner the Li22 brarian and the Secretary consider appropriate; 

23 and 

24 (D) to make the collection available for 

25 public use through the Library of Congress and 


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1 the National Museum of African American His2 tory and Culture, as well as through such other 

3 methods as the Librarian and the Secretary 

4 consider appropriate. 

5 (2) ROLE OF DIRECTOR OF MUSEUM.—The 

6 Secretary shall carry out the Secretary’s duties 

7 under this Act through the Director of the National 

8 Museum of African American History and Culture. 

9 (b) USE OF AND CONSULTATION WITH OTHER ENTI10 TIES.—The Librarian and the Secretary may carry out the 

11 activities described in subsection (a)(1) through agree12 ments and partnerships entered into with other govern13 ment and private entities, and may otherwise consult with 

14 interested persons (within the limits of available re15 sources) and develop appropriate guidelines and arrange16 ments for soliciting, acquiring, and making available re17 cordings under the project under this Act. 

18 (c) SERVICES OF EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS; AC19 CEPTANCE OF VOLUNTEER SERVICES; ADVANCE PAY20 MENTS.—In carrying out activities described in subsection 

21 (a)(1), the Librarian and the Secretary may— 

22 (1) procure temporary and intermittent services 

23 under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code; 

24 (2) accept and utilize the services of volunteers 

25 and other uncompensated personnel and reimburse 


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1 them for travel expenses, including per diem, as au2 thorized under section 5703 of title 5, United States 

3 Code; and 

4 (3) make advances of money and payments in 

5 advance in accordance with section 3324 of title 31, 

6 United States Code. 

7 (d) TIMING.—As soon as practicable after the enact8 ment of this Act, the Librarian and the Secretary shall 

9 begin collecting video and audio recordings and other ma10 terials under subsection (a)(1), and shall attempt to collect 

11 the first such recordings from the oldest individuals in12 volved. 

13 (e) DEFINITION.—In this Act, the term ‘‘Civil Rights 

14 movement’’ means the movement to secure racial equality 

15 in the United States for African Americans that, focusing 

16 on the period 1954 through 1968, challenged the practice 

17 of racial segregation in the Nation and achieved equal 

18 rights legislation for all American citizens. 

19 SEC. 4. PRIVATE SUPPORT FOR CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY 

20 PROJECT. 

21 (a) ENCOURAGING SOLICITATION AND ACCEPTANCE

22 OF DONATIONS.—The Librarian of Congress and the Sec23 retary are encouraged to solicit and accept donations of 

24 funds and in-kind contributions to support activities under 

25 section 3. 


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1 (b) DEDICATION OF FUNDS PROVIDED TO LIBRARY

2 OF CONGRESS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

3 law— 

4 (1) any funds donated to the Librarian of Con5 gress to support the activities of the Librarian under 

6 section 3 shall be deposited entirely into an account 

7 established for such purpose; 

8 (2) the funds contained in such account shall be 

9 used solely to support such activities; and 

10 (3) the Librarian of Congress may not deposit 

11 into such account any funds donated to the Librar12 ian which are not donated for the exclusive purpose 

13 of supporting such activities. 

14 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

16 this Act— 

17 (1) $500,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

18 (2) such sums as may be necessary for each of 

19 the fiscal years 2011 through 2014. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 22, 2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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