II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 527 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Foot Soldiers who participated 

in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, or the final Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March in March of 1965, which served as a 

catalyst for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2015 

Mr. SESSIONS (for himself, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. 

BLUNT, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. DAINES, 

Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BURR, Mr. DONNELLY, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. FRANKEN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. KAINE, Mr. 

LEAHY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. NELSON, 

Mr. PETERS, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. CORKER, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. 

SASSE, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. COTTON, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. ALEXANDER, 

Mr. CRUZ, Mr. RISCH, Mr. WICKER, Ms. AYOTTE, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. 

SCOTT, Mr. COATS, Mr. PERDUE, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. HATCH, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. HOEVEN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. 

WYDEN, Mr. REID, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. THUNE, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. 

SCHATZ, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. REED, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. COONS, Ms. 

STABENOW, Mr. BROWN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. CARDIN, and Mrs. MCCASKILL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Foot Soldiers 

who participated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, or the final Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights 

March in March of 1965, which served as a catalyst 

for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 


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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) March 7, 2015, will mark 50 years since the 

6 brave Foot Soldiers of the Voting Rights Movement 

7 first attempted to march from Selma to Montgomery 

8 on ‘‘Bloody Sunday’’ in protest against the denial of 

9 their right to vote, and were brutally assaulted by 

10 Alabama state troopers. 

11 (2) Beginning in 1964, members of the Student 

12 Nonviolent Coordinating Committee attempted to 

13 register African-Americans to vote throughout the 

14 state of Alabama. 

15 (3) These efforts were designed to ensure that 

16 every American citizen would be able to exercise 

17 their constitutional right to vote and have their 

18 voices heard. 

19 (4) By December of 1964, many of these efforts 

20 remained unsuccessful. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 

21 working with leaders from the Student Nonviolent 

22 Coordinating Committee and the Southern Christian 

23 Leadership Conference, began to organize protests 

24 throughout Alabama. 


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1 (5) On March 7, 1965, over 500 voting rights 

2 marchers known as ‘‘Foot Soldiers’’ gathered on the 

3 Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama in peace4 ful protest of the denial of their most sacred and 

5 constitutionally protected right—the right to vote. 

6 (6) Led by John Lewis of the Student Non7 violent Coordinating Committee and Rev. Hosea 

8 Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Con9 ference, these Foot Soldiers began the march to10 wards the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery, 

11 Alabama. 

12 (7) As the Foot Soldiers crossed the Edmund 

13 Pettus Bridge, they were confronted by a wall of 

14 Alabama state troopers who brutally attacked and 

15 beat them. 

16 (8) Americans across the country witnessed this 

17 tragic turn of events as news stations broadcasted 

18 the brutality on a day that would be later known as 

19 ‘‘Bloody Sunday.’’ 

20 (9) Two days later on Tuesday, March 9, 1965, 

21 nearly 2,500 Foot Soldiers led by Dr. Martin Luther 

22 King risked their lives once more and attempted a 

23 second peaceful march starting at the Edmund 

24 Pettus Bridge. This second attempted march was 

25 later known as ‘‘Turnaround Tuesday.’’ 


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1 (10) Fearing for the safety of these Foot Sol2 diers who received no protection from federal or 

3 state authorities during this second march, Dr. King 

4 led the marchers to the base of the Edmund Pettus 

5 Bridge and stopped. Dr. King kneeled and offered a 

6 prayer of solidarity and walked back to the church. 

7 (11) President Lyndon B. Johnson, inspired by 

8 the bravery and determination of these Foot Soldiers 

9 and the atrocities they endured, announced his plan 

10 for a voting rights bill aimed at securing the pre11 cious right to vote for all citizens during an address 

12 to Congress on March 15, 1965. 

13 (12) On March 17, 1965, one week after 

14 ‘‘Turnaround Tuesday’’, U.S. District Judge Frank 

15 M. Johnson ruled the Foot Soldiers had a First 

16 Amendment right to petition the government 

17 through peaceful protest, and ordered federal agents 

18 to provide full protection to the Foot Soldiers during 

19 the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March. 

20 (13) Judge Johnson’s decision overturned Ala21 bama Governor George Wallace’s prohibition on the 

22 protest due to public safety concerns. 

23 (14) On March 21, 1965, under the court 

24 order, the U.S. Army, the federalized Alabama Na25 tional Guard, and countless federal agents and marVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:25 Feb 25, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S527.IS S527

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1 shals escorted nearly 8,000 Foot Soldiers from the 

2 start of their heroic journey in Selma, Alabama to 

3 their safe arrival on the steps of the Alabama State 

4 Capitol Building on March 25, 1965. 

5 (15) The extraordinary bravery and sacrifice 

6 these Foot Soldiers displayed in pursuit of a peace7 ful march from Selma to Montgomery brought na8 tional attention to the struggle for equal voting 

9 rights, and served as the catalyst for Congress to 

10 pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which President 

11 Johnson signed into law on August 6, 1965. 

12 (16) To commemorate the 50th anniversary of 

13 the Voting Rights Movement and the passage of the 

14 Voting Rights Act of 1965, it is befitting that Con15 gress bestow the highest civilian honor, the Congres16 sional Gold Medal, in 2015, to the Foot Soldiers 

17 who participated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround 

18 Tuesday or the final Selma to Montgomery Voting 

19 Rights March during March of 1965, which served 

20 as a catalyst for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

21 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

22 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

23 the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tem24 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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


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1 medal of appropriate design to the Foot Soldiers who par2 ticipated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, or the 

3 final Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March during 

4 March of 1965, which served as a catalyst for the Voting 

5 Rights Act of 1965. 

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

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

14 given to the Selma Interpretative Center in Selma, Ala15 bama, where it shall be available for display or temporary 

16 loan to be displayed elsewhere, as appropriate. 

17 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

18 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

19 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 

20 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

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

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

23 and the cost of the gold medal. 


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1 SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

2 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu3 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

4 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

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

6 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

7 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

8 items. 

Æ 


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