[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 249 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 249


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 11, 2010

        Received and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Commemorating the 45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the role that 
  it played in ensuring the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

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.

            Passed the House of Representatives March 10, 2010.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.