I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 360 
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Addie Mae Collins, 
Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, in recognition 
of the 50th commemoration of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street 
Baptist Church where the 4 little Black girls lost their lives, which 
served as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 23, 2013 
Ms. SEWELL of Alabama (for herself, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. BONNER, Mrs. ROBY, 
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. BROOKS of Alabama, Mr. 
LEWIS, and Mr. BISHOP of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Addie 
Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cyn-
thia Wesley, in recognition of the 50th commemoration 
of the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church 
where the 4 little Black girls lost their lives, which served 
as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
The Congress Finds the following: 
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(1) September 15, 2013 will mark 50 years 
since the lives of Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, 
Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley were sud-
denly taken by a bomb planted in the Sixteenth 
Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. 
(2) The senseless and premature death of these 
4 little Black girls sparked ‘‘The Movement that 
Changed the World.’’ 
(3) On that tragic Sunday in September of 
1963, the world took notice of the violence inflicted 
in the struggle for equal rights. 
(4) The fact that 4 innocent children lost their 
lives as they prepared for Sunday School shook the 
world’s conscience. 
(5) This tragedy galvanized the Civil Rights 
Movement and sparked a surge of momentum that 
helped secure the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 
1964 and later the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by 
President Lyndon B. Johnson. 
(6) Justice was delayed for these 4 little Black 
girls and their families until 2002, 39 years after 
the bombing, when the last of the 4 Klansmen re-
sponsible for the bombing was charged and convicted 
with the crime. 
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(7) The 4 little Black girls are emblematic of 
so many who have lost their lives for the cause of 
freedom and equality, including Virgil Ware and 
James Johnny Robinson who were children also 
killed within hours of the 1963 church bombing. 
(8) The legacy that these 4 little Black girls left 
will live on in the minds and hearts of us all for gen-
erations to come. 
(9) Their extraordinary sacrifice sparked real 
and lasting change as Congress began to aggres-
sively pass legislation that ensured equality. 
(10) Sixteenth Street Baptist Church remains a 
powerful symbol of the movement for civil and 
human rights and will host the 50th anniversary 
ceremony on Sunday, September 15, 2013. 
(11) It is befitting that Congress bestow the 
highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold 
Medal, in 2013 to the 4 little Black girls, Addie Mae 
Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cyn-
thia Wesley, posthumously in recognition of the 50th 
commemoration of the historical significance of the 
bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. 
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tem-
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pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 
for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold 
medal of appropriate design to commemorate the lives of 
Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and 
Cynthia Wesley. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 
of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 
devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Sec-
retary. 
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 
under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 
a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 
and the cost of the gold medal. 
SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck under 
this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 
of title 31, United States Code. 
(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 
5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 
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