Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a congressional gold medal to commemorate the lives of Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley (children who lost their lives in the September 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, an incident recognized as a catalyst for the civil rights movement).
Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates of such medals, with amounts received from the sale to be deposited in the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 186 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 186
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Addie Mae Collins,
Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, in recognition of
the 50th anniversary 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 30, 2013
Mr. Shelby (for himself and Mr. Sessions) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
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 anniversary 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 Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
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, known as the ``4 little Black girls'', were
suddenly taken by a bomb planted in the Sixteenth Street
Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
(2) The senseless and premature death of the 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, which were signed into law 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 Klansmen responsible for the bombing was convicted
of 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 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 anniversary 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.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
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