I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 586 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 15, 2009 

Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York (for herself and Mr. LEWIS of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House 

Administration 

A BILL 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

3 Project Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

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

6 (1) A fundamental principle of American de7 mocracy is that individuals should stand up for their 

8 rights and beliefs and fight for justice. 

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

10 Civil Rights movement from the 1950s through the 

11 1960s are a shining example of this principle in ac12 tion, demonstrated in events as varied as the Mont13 gomery Bus Boycott, the sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, 

14 the March on Washington, the drive for voting 

15 rights in Mississippi, and the March to Selma. 

16 (3) While the Civil Rights movement had many 

17 visible leaders, including Thurgood Marshall, Dr. 

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

19 were many others whose impact and experience were 

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

21 well known. 

22 (4) The participants in the Civil Rights move23 ment possess an invaluable resource in their first24 hand memories of the movement, and the recording 

25 of the retelling of their stories and memories will 


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1 provide a rich, detailed history of our Nation during 

2 an important and tumultuous period. 

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

4 a project to collect oral histories of individuals from 

5 the Civil Rights movement so future generations will 

6 be able to learn of their struggle and sacrifice 

7 through primary-source, eyewitness material. A co8 ordinated Federal project would also focus attention 

9 on the efforts undertaken by various public and pri10 vate entities to collect and interpret articles in all 

11 formats relating to the Civil Rights movement, and 

12 serve as a model for future projects undertaken in 

13 museums, libraries, and universities throughout the 

14 Nation. 

15 (6) The Library of Congress and the Smithso16 nian Institution are appropriate repositories to col17 lect, preserve, and make available to the public a col18 lection of these oral histories. The Library and 

19 Smithsonian have expertise in the management of 

20 documentation projects, and experience in the devel21 opment of cultural and educational programs for the 

22 public. 

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

24 a new federally sponsored, authorized, and funded project 

25 that will coordinate at a national level the collection of 


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•HR 586 IH

1 video and audio recordings of personal histories and 

2 testimonials of individuals who participated in the Amer3 ican Civil Rights movement that will build upon and com4 plement previous and ongoing documentary work on this 

5 subject, and to assist and encourage local efforts to pre6 serve the memories of such individuals so that Americans 

7 of all current and future generations may hear from them 

8 directly and better appreciate the sacrifices they made. 

9 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT PROJECT AT LIBRARY 

10 OF CONGRESS AND NATIONAL MUSEUM OF 

11 AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE 

12 TO COLLECT VIDEO AND AUDIO RECORDINGS 

13 OF HISTORIES OF PARTICIPANTS IN AMER14 ICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROJECT.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within the limits of avail17 able funds, the Librarian of Congress (hereafter re18 ferred to as the ‘‘Librarian’’) and the Secretary of 

19 the Smithsonian Institution (hereafter referred to as 

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

21 oral history project— 

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

23 the project, collections of audio and video re24 cordings of the reminiscences of participants in 

25 the Civil Rights movement that are housed in 


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1 archives, libraries, museums, and other edu2 cational institutions, as well as ongoing docu3 mentary work, in order to augment and com4 plement these endeavors and avoid duplication 

5 of effort; 

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

7 (i) video and audio recordings of per8 sonal histories and testimonials of individ9 uals who participated in the Civil Rights 

10 movement, and 

11 (ii) visual and written materials (such 

12 as letters, diaries, photographs, and 

13 ephemera) relevant to the personal his14 tories of individuals; 

15 (C) to create a collection of the recordings 

16 and other materials obtained, and to catalog 

17 and index the collection in a manner the Li18 brarian and the Secretary consider appropriate; 

19 and 

20 (D) to make the collection available for 

21 public use through the Library of Congress and 

22 the National Museum of African American His23 tory and Culture, as well as through such other 

24 methods as the Librarian and the Secretary 

25 consider appropriate. 


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

2 Secretary shall carry out the Secretary’s duties 

3 under this Act through the Director of the National 

4 Museum of African American History and Culture. 

5 (b) USE OF AND CONSULTATION WITH OTHER ENTI6 TIES.—The Librarian and the Secretary may carry out the 

7 activities described in subsection (a)(1) through agree8 ments and partnerships entered into with other govern9 ment and private entities, and may otherwise consult with 

10 interested persons (within the limits of available re11 sources) and develop appropriate guidelines and arrange12 ments for soliciting, acquiring, and making available re13 cordings under the project under this Act. 

14 (c) SERVICES OF EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS; AC15 CEPTANCE OF VOLUNTEER SERVICES; ADVANCE PAY16 MENTS.—In carrying out activities described in subsection 

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

18 (1) procure temporary and intermittent services 

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

20 (2) accept and utilize the services of volunteers 

21 and other uncompensated personnel and reimburse 

22 them for travel expenses, including per diem, as au23 thorized under section 5703 of title 5, United States 

24 Code; and 


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1 (3) make advances of money and payments in 

2 advance in accordance with section 3324 of title 31, 

3 United States Code. 

4 (d) TIMING.—As soon as practicable after the enact5 ment of this Act, the Librarian and the Secretary shall 

6 begin collecting video and audio recordings and other ma7 terials under subsection (a)(1), and shall attempt to collect 

8 the first such recordings from the oldest individuals in9 volved. 

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

11 movement’’ means the movement to secure racial equality 

12 in the United States for African Americans that, focusing 

13 on the period 1954 through 1968, challenged the practice 

14 of racial segregation in the Nation and achieved equal 

15 rights legislation for all American citizens. 

16 SEC. 4. PRIVATE SUPPORT FOR CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY 

17 PROJECT. 

18 (a) ENCOURAGING SOLICITATION AND ACCEPTANCE

19 OF DONATIONS.—The Librarian of Congress and the Sec20 retary are encouraged to solicit and accept donations of 

21 funds and in-kind contributions to support activities under 

22 section 3. 

23 (b) DEDICATION OF FUNDS PROVIDED TO LIBRARY

24 OF CONGRESS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

25 law— 


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1 (1) any funds donated to the Librarian of Con2 gress to support the activities of the Librarian under 

3 section 3 shall be deposited entirely into an account 

4 established for such purpose; 

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

6 used solely to support such activities; and 

7 (3) the Librarian of Congress may not deposit 

8 into such account any funds donated to the Librar9 ian which are not donated for the exclusive purpose 

10 of supporting such activities. 

11 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

13 this Act— 

14 (1) $500,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

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

16 the fiscal years 2011 through 2014. 

Æ 


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