(9) The Nashville (TN) Student Group, a local 
group of students who had been successful in deseg-
regating the lunch counters and movie theaters in 
Nashville (TN), vowed not to let these acts of vio-
lence curtail the goal of the Freedom Rides. They 
sent their members to continue the Freedom Rides 
and called out to other student groups to do the 
same. 
(10) As the violence grew, the Attorney General 
of the United States called in the National Guard 
and the U.S. Marshals to protect the Freedom Rid-
ers as they journeyed through Alabama. This protec-
tion was short-lived. The Federal authorities turned 
the Freedom Riders over to the local authorities in 
Mississippi who then arrested the Freedom Riders 
for disturbing the peace. 
(11) The government of Mississippi imprisoned 
many of the Freedom Riders in Parchman Prison 
known for its horrific conditions, such as subjecting 
the Freedom Riders to strip searches, work on chain 
gangs, and light shining in their cells 24 hours a 
day. Despite these conditions, the Freedom Riders 
refused bail because they were determined to spread 
the message of their nonviolent movement. 
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(12) Five months after the first Freedom Rid-
ers left on their historic ride, the Interstate Com-
merce Commission in conjunction with the U.S. At-
torney General Robert Kennedy issued a Federal 
order banning segregation at all interstate public fa-
cilities based upon ‘‘race, color or creed’’. The law 
became effective on November 1, 1961. 
(13) In 2011, Barack Obama, the President of 
the United States paid tribute to the Freedom Rid-
ers with a Presidential proclamation honoring the 
50th anniversary of the first Freedom Ride by brave 
Americans whose selfless act of courage helped pave 
the way for others to continue on the road to Civil 
Rights in America. 
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZATION.—The Speaker 
of the House of Representatives and the President pro 
tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrange-
ments for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of 
a gold medal of appropriate design to the Freedom Riders, 
collectively, in recognition of their unique contribution to 
Civil Rights, which inspired a revolutionary movement to 
equality in interstate travel. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 
award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 
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Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 
devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec-
retary. 
(c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 
gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal 
shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where 
it will be available for display as appropriate and 
available for research. 
(2) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense 
of the Congress that the Smithsonian Institution 
should make the gold medal awarded pursuant to 
this Act available for display elsewhere, particularly 
at appropriate locations associated with the Freedom 
Riders. 
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. 
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SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 
Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national med-
als for the purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United 
States Code. 
Æ 
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