[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 360 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.360
One Hundred Thirteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
the third day of January, two thousand and thirteen
An Act
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Addie Mae Collins,
Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley to commemorate the
lives they lost 50 years ago in the bombing of the Sixteenth Street
Baptist Church, where these 4 little Black girls' ultimate sacrifice
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.
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 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 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.
(c) Award of Medal.--Following the award of the gold medal
described in subsection (a), the medal shall be given to the Birmingham
Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham, AL, where it shall be available
for display or temporary loan to be displayed elsewhere, as
appropriate.
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold
medal struck under section 2, at a price sufficient to cover the costs
of the medal, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses, and amounts received from the sale of such
duplicates shall be deposited in the United States Mint Public
Enterprise Fund.
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.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.