IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 223 
Recognizing the significance of Atlanta, Georgia, as the cradle of the civil 
rights movement. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 10, 2023 
Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia (for himself, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. 
JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, and Mr. 
DAVIS of Illinois) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the significance of Atlanta, Georgia, as the 
cradle of the civil rights movement. 
Whereas, in July 1881, a washerwoman strike of mostly 
Black women was one of the first major examples of the 
impact of Black labor in Atlanta and the power of coordi-
nated, nonviolent organizing; 
Whereas, in 1909, Atlanta University Professor W.E.B. Du 
Bois was one of the founders of the National Association 
for the Advancement of Colored People; 
Whereas, on January 15, 1929, civil rights leader Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr., was born in Atlanta; 
Whereas, in 1946, African-American community leaders in 
Atlanta established the All Citizen’s Registration Com-
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•HRES 223 IH 
mittee (ACRC) to register voters and increase involve-
ment in the political process; 
Whereas, in 1948, 8 African-American officers were hired to 
the Atlanta Police Department, desegregating the city’s 
police force; 
Whereas, in 1949, the Atlanta Negro Voters League (ANVL) 
was founded to coordinate political advocacy and bolster 
the power of African-American voters; 
Whereas, in 1956, Atlanta was the site of the ‘‘Sugar Bowl 
Riots’’, when Pittsburgh Panthers football player Bobby 
Grier became the first African American to play in a 
bowl game in the Deep South; 
Whereas, in 1957, Dr. King and Ralph David Abernathy 
formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference 
(SCLC) to develop and implement nonviolent protest 
strategies and advance the fight for equal voting rights; 
Whereas, on October 12, 1958, the Hebrew Benevolent Con-
gregation Temple was bombed by White supremacists due 
to Rabbi Jacob Rothschild, the Temple’s Rabbi, and its 
congregation’s active and vocal support for civil rights 
and integration; 
Whereas, in 1959, local activism led to the desegregation of 
Atlanta public transit services; 
Whereas, in 1960, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Com-
mittee (SNCC) was headquartered in Atlanta and chaired 
by the honorable John Lewis, to focus the energy and ef-
forts of students participating in the civil rights move-
ment; 
Whereas, in 1960, the Atlanta University Center (AUC) es-
tablished the Atlanta Student Movement to lead sit-ins to 
protest segregation in public facilities; 
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•HRES 223 IH 
Whereas, in 1960, Dr. King, along with 52 other activists, 
was arrested at an Atlanta department store lunch 
counter sit-in while protesting segregation; 
Whereas, in 1961, Morehouse College student Charles Black 
led demonstrations against the lack of African-American 
health care workers in Atlanta health facilities, eventually 
leading to the desegregation of Grady Memorial Hospital; 
Whereas the Atlanta-based SCLC was critical in securing the 
passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965, highly consequential pieces of legisla-
tion that guarantee full rights and equal protection of the 
law for all Americans; 
Whereas, in 1964, the landmark Supreme Court case Heart 
of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States found that the 
Federal Government had the power to enforce the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964 and prohibit discrimination on the 
basis of race; 
Whereas political advocacy efforts in Atlanta were instru-
mental in promoting the passage of the Civil Rights Act 
of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the crown 
jewels of the civil rights movement; 
Whereas, in 1965, partially as a result of the successes of the 
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 
1965, 11 Black people were elected to the Georgia House 
of Representatives, including Atlanta-based civil rights 
organizer Julian Bond; 
Whereas, in 1968, 150,000 people joined in Dr. King’s fu-
neral procession through the streets of Atlanta, to honor 
his memory and demonstrate that further action was 
needed to advance the cause of equality; 
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•HRES 223 IH 
Whereas political advocacy efforts in Atlanta were instru-
mental in promoting the passage of the Civil Rights Act 
of 1968, parts of which are commonly called the Fair 
Housing Act, which prohibits housing discrimination on 
the basis of race, religion, nationality, disability, or sex; 
Whereas, in 1972, Andrew Young was elected to Congress 
from Atlanta, becoming the first Black representative 
from the Deep South since Reconstruction; 
Whereas, in 1973, Maynard Jackson was elected as Atlanta’s 
first African-American mayor, also becoming the first Af-
rican-American mayor in the Deep South, providing in-
spiration to civil servants and voters across the United 
States; 
Whereas, in 1976, the Sweet Auburn Historical District in 
Atlanta was designated as a National Historic Landmark 
District for its significance as a prosperous African- 
American neighborhood and center of commerce; 
Whereas, in 1977, Atlantan Andrew Young was appointed as 
the first Black United States Ambassador to the United 
Nations; 
Whereas, in 1981, the honorable John Lewis began his career 
as an elected official as a member of the Atlanta City 
Council; 
Whereas, in 1986, the honorable John Lewis was elected to 
represent Atlanta in the House of Representatives, where 
he would go on to serve for 33 years; 
Whereas Atlanta has ascended as a global city and a world- 
class leader in business, entrepreneurship, athletics, 
transportation, politics, social equity, faith, culture, edu-
cation, health, and science; 
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•HRES 223 IH 
Whereas Atlanta’s reputation for cohesive economic achieve-
ment has earned it the nickname ‘‘The City Too Busy to 
Hate’’; 
Whereas Atlanta is home to numerous stellar institutes of 
higher learning, including Morehouse College, Morehouse 
School of Medicine, Clark Atlanta University, Spelman 
College, Morris Brown College, and the Georgia Institute 
of Technology; and 
Whereas Atlanta continues to be recognized as a center of di-
versity, inclusivity, excellence, and social, economic, and 
educational opportunity for all: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes Atlanta’s significance as the cra-
dle of the civil rights movement for the city’s im-
mense contributions to the cause of equal rights; and 
(2) honors Atlanta’s role as a dynamic, vibrant 
city that continues to lead by example to show the 
success that is possible when Americans are given 
equal opportunities to pursue excellence. 
Æ 
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