[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 249 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.Con.Res.249
                                        Agreed to March 16, 2010        

                      One Hundred Eleventh Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
             the fifth day of January, two thousand and ten


                          Concurrent Resolution

Whereas brave people in the United States, known and unknown, of 
  different races, ethnicities, and religions, risked their lives to 
  stand for political equality and against racial discrimination in a 
  quest culminating in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965;

Whereas numerous people in the United States paid the ultimate price in 
  pursuit of that quest, while demanding that the Nation live up to the 
  guarantees enshrined in the 14th and 15th Amendments to the United 
  States Constitution;

Whereas the historic struggle for equal voting rights led nonviolent 
  civil rights marchers to gather on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, 
  Alabama, on March 7, 1965, a day that would come to be known as 
  ``Bloody Sunday'', where their bravery was tested by a brutal 
  response, which in turn sent a clarion call to the Nation that the 
  fulfillment of democratic ideals could no longer be denied;

Whereas, March 7, 2010, marks the 45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, 
  the day on which some 600 civil rights marchers were demonstrating 
  for African-American voting rights;

Whereas Congressman John Lewis and the late Hosea Williams led these 
  marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where 
  they were attacked with billy clubs and tear gas by State and local 
  lawmen;

Whereas during the march on Bloody Sunday, Congressman Lewis was beaten 
  unconscious, leaving him with a concussion and countless other 
  injuries;

Whereas footage of the events on Bloody Sunday was broadcast on 
  national television that night and burned its way into the Nation's 
  conscience;

Whereas the courage, discipline, and sacrifice of these marchers caused 
  the Nation to respond quickly and positively;

Whereas eight days after Bloody Sunday, President Lyndon B. Johnson 
  called for a comprehensive and effective voting rights bill as a 
  necessary response by Congress and the President to the interference 
  and violence, in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments, 
  encountered by African-American citizens when attempting to protect 
  and exercise the right to vote;

Whereas a bipartisan Congress approved the Voting Rights Act of 1965 
  and on August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed this 
  landmark legislation into law;

Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 stands as a tribute to the 
  heroism of countless people in the United States and serves as one of 
  the Nation's most important civil rights victories, enabling 
  political empowerment and voter enfranchisement for all people in the 
  United States;

Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 effectuates the permanent 
  guarantee of the 15th Amendment that ``the right of citizens of the 
  United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United 
  States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous 
  condition of servitude'';

Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has increased voter registration 
  among racial, ethnic, and language minorities, as well as enhanced 
  the ability of those citizens to participate in the political process 
  and elect representatives of their choice to public office; and

Whereas the citizens of the United States must not only remember this 
  historic event, but also commemorate its role in the creation of a 
  more just society and appreciate the ways in which it has inspired 
  other movements around the world: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
        (1) commemorates the 45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday;
        (2) observes and celebrates the 45th anniversary of the 
    enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965;
        (3) pledges to advance the legacy of the Voting Rights Act of 
    1965 to ensure its continued effectiveness in protecting the voting 
    rights of all people in the United States; and
        (4) encourages all people in the United States to reflect upon 
    the sacrifices of the Bloody Sunday marchers and acknowledge that 
    their sacrifice made possible the passage of the Voting Rights Act 
    of 1965.
Attest:

                                 Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Attest:

                                               Secretary of the Senate.