An Act to award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal award to victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing (H.R. 360; 113th Congress)

by Terri Sewell

113th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 360

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 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.

Section 1. Findings

The Congress Finds the following:

(1) September 15, 2013 will mark 50 years since the lives of Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley were suddenly 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 responsible for the bombing was charged and convicted with the crime.

(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 generations to come.

(9) Their extraordinary sacrifice sparked real and lasting change as Congress began to aggressively 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 Cynthia 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 Tempore 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“Secretary”) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary.

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 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.

Sec. 5. Authority to use fund amounts; proceeds of sale

(a) Authority To use fund amounts–

There is authorized to be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant to this Act.

(b) Proceeds of sale–

Amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 3 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.