I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8681 
To establish the John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship to fund international 
internships and research placements for early- to mid-career professionals 
to study nonviolent movements to establish and protect civil rights around 
the world. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 5, 2022 
Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia (for herself, Ms. MACE, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. BISHOP 
of Georgia, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. EVANS, and Ms. DEAN) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs 
A BILL 
To establish the John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship to fund 
international internships and research placements for 
early- to mid-career professionals to study nonviolent 
movements to establish and protect civil rights around 
the world. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘John Lewis Civil 
Rights Fellowship Act of 2022’’. 
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SEC. 2. JOHN LEWIS CIVIL RIGHTS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 
The Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act 
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 115. JOHN LEWIS CIVIL RIGHTS FELLOWSHIP PRO-
GRAM. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 
John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship Program (referred to 
in this section as the ‘Fellowship Program’) within the J. 
William Fulbright Educational Exchange Program. 
‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Fellowship 
Program are— 
‘‘(1) to honor the legacy of Representative John 
Lewis by promoting a greater understanding of the 
history and tenets of nonviolent civil rights move-
ments; and 
‘‘(2) to promote studies, research, and inter-
national exchange in the subject of nonviolent move-
ments that established and protected civil rights 
around the world. 
‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Bureau of Educational 
and Cultural Affairs (referred to in this section as the ‘Bu-
reau’) shall administer the Fellowship Program in accord-
ance with policy guidelines established by the Fulbright 
Foreign Scholarship Board, in consultation with the bina-
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tional Fulbright Commissions and United States Embas-
sies. 
‘‘(d) SELECTION OF FELLOWS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall annually 
select qualified individuals to participate in the Fel-
lowship Program. The Board may determine the 
number of fellows selected each year, which shall be 
not fewer than 25 whenever feasible. 
‘‘(2) OUTREACH.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Bureau should 
conduct outreach at organizations described in 
subparagraph (B)— 
‘‘(i) to broaden the pool of qualified 
applicants; and 
‘‘(ii) to facilitate, to the extent prac-
ticable, diversity within each cohort of fel-
lows. 
‘‘(B) ORGANIZATIONS
DESCRIBED.—The 
organizations described in this subparagraph 
are— 
‘‘(i) minority serving institutions, in-
cluding historically Black colleges and uni-
versities; and 
‘‘(ii) other appropriate institutions, as 
determined by the Board. 
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‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 
‘‘(i) DIVERSITY.—The term ‘diversity’ 
means diversity of individuals based on 
factors including race, color, religion, sex, 
pregnancy, gender identity, national origin, 
political affiliation, sexual orientation, mar-
ital status, disability, genetic information, 
age, parental status, or military service. 
‘‘(ii) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE 
AND UNIVERSITY.—The term ‘historically 
Black college and university’ has the mean-
ing given the term ‘part B institution’ in 
section 322 of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061). 
‘‘(iii) MINORITY
SERVING
INSTITU-
TION.—The term ‘minority-serving institu-
tion’ means an eligible institution under 
section 371(a) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 
‘‘(e) FELLOWSHIP ORIENTATION.—The Bureau shall 
organize and administer a fellowship orientation that 
shall— 
‘‘(1) be held in Washington, DC, or at another 
location selected by the Bureau; 
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‘‘(2) include programming to honor the legacy 
of Representative John Lewis; and 
‘‘(3) be held on an annual basis not later than 
30 days before the commencement of the fellowship 
program. 
‘‘(f) STRUCTURE.— 
‘‘(1) WORK PLAN.—To carry out the purposes 
described in subsection (b)(2)— 
‘‘(A) each fellow selected pursuant to sub-
section (d) shall arrange an internship or re-
search placement— 
‘‘(i) with a nongovernmental organiza-
tion, academic institution, or other organi-
zation approved by the Bureau; and 
‘‘(ii) in a country with an operational 
Fulbright U.S. Student Program; and 
‘‘(B) the Bureau shall, for each fellow, ap-
prove a work plan that identifies the target ob-
jectives for the fellow, including specific duties 
and responsibilities relating to those objectives. 
‘‘(2) CONFERENCES; PRESENTATIONS.—Each 
fellow shall— 
‘‘(A) attend the fellowship orientation de-
scribed in subsection (e); 
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‘‘(B) not later than the date that is one 
year after the end of the fellowship period, at-
tend a fellowship summit organized and admin-
istered by the Bureau, which shall be held in 
Atlanta, Georgia, or at another location of im-
portance to the civil rights movement in the 
United States and selected by the Bureau; and 
‘‘(C) at such summit, give a presentation 
on lessons learned during the period of fellow-
ship. 
‘‘(3) FELLOWSHIP
PERIOD.—Each fellowship 
under this section shall continue for a period deter-
mined by the Bureau, which shall be not shorter 
than 10 months whenever feasible. 
‘‘(g) FELLOWSHIP AWARD.—The Bureau shall pro-
vide each fellow under this section with an allowance that 
is equal to the amount needed for— 
‘‘(1) the fellow’s reasonable costs during the fel-
lowship period; and 
‘‘(2) travel and lodging expenses related to at-
tending the orientation and summit required under 
subsection (e)(2). 
‘‘(h) BRIEFING.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of the selection of the initial cohort of fellows under sub-
section (d), and on an annual basis thereafter, the Sec-
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retary of State shall brief Congress on the state of the 
Fellowship Program, including— 
‘‘(1) the demographics of the cohort of fellows 
who completed a fellowship during the preceding 1- 
year period; 
‘‘(2) an analysis of the diversity of the Fellow-
ship Program based on the demographics of each co-
hort of fellows who completed a fellowship by the 
date of the briefing; and 
‘‘(3) an analysis of trends relating to the diver-
sity of the cohorts of fellows over the course of the 
Fellowship Program.’’. 
SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO 
THE MUTUAL EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL 
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1961. 
Section 112(a) of the Mutual Educational and Cul-
tural Exchange Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2460(a)) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 
inserting a semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and 
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(10) the John Lewis Civil Rights Fellowship 
Program established under section 115, which pro-
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vides funding for international internships and re-
search placements for early- to mid-career individ-
uals from the United States to study nonviolent civil 
rights movements in self-arranged placements with 
universities or nongovernmental organizations in for-
eign countries.’’. 
Æ 
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