[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 802 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 802

Recognizing the historical significance and the 50th anniversary of the 
``James H. Meredith March Against Fear'', a 220-mile walk down Highway 
          51 from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 5, 2016

   Mr. Cohen (for himself, Mr. Kelly of Mississippi, Mr. Thompson of 
Mississippi, and Mr. Harper) submitted the following resolution; which 
             was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing the historical significance and the 50th anniversary of the 
``James H. Meredith March Against Fear'', a 220-mile walk down Highway 
          51 from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi.

Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States, in Brown v. Board of Education, 
        347 U.S. 483 (1954), ruled that separating children in public schools on 
        the basis of race violates the 14th amendment to the Constitution of the 
        United States;
Whereas in the years following Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), 
        some Southern States, including the State of Mississippi, continued to 
        uphold racial segregation;
Whereas, in 1962, the first African-American integrated the University of 
        Mississippi (referred to in this preamble as ``Ole Miss'');
Whereas, in 1965, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), which 
        passed Congress with bipartisan support and was signed by President 
        Lyndon Johnson, prohibited racial discrimination in voting;
Whereas, in 1966, 4 years after integration, the first African-American student 
        at Ole Miss planned a 220-mile march from Memphis, Tennessee, to 
        Jackson, Mississippi (referred to in this preamble as the ``Meredith 
        March Against Fear'')--

    (1) to challenge the fear that dominated the day-to-day lives of 
African-Americans in the Southern United States, specifically in the State 
of Mississippi; and

    (2) to encourage the 450,000 unregistered African-Americans in the 
State of Mississippi to register to vote and to go to the polls;

Whereas, on June 5, 1966, the historic Meredith March Against Fear began at the 
        Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis, Tennessee;
Whereas the self-reliant and determined leader of the Meredith March Against 
        Fear carried no food, clothing, or sleeping bag, and was joined only by 
        a small number of African-American supporters and Whites from the North;
Whereas on reaching the border between the States of Tennessee and Mississippi, 
        the marchers were greeted with hostility;
Whereas, on June 6, 1966, the Meredith March Against Fear continued south along 
        United States Highway 51 through DeSoto County toward the town of 
        Hernando, Mississippi;
Whereas 150 African-American men and women greeted the marchers at the town 
        square in Hernando, Mississippi;
Whereas the visit of the marchers to Hernando, Mississippi, embodied the purpose 
        of the Meredith March Against Fear, ``to explain [to African Americans] 
        that the old order was passing, that they should stand up as men with 
        nothing to fear'';
Whereas, on June 6, 1966, about 1 mile south of Hernando, Mississippi, the 
        leader of the Meredith March Against Fear was shot 3 times by an 
        attempted assassin;
Whereas, on June 7, 1966, national civil rights leaders, including Dr. Martin 
        Luther King, Jr., Floyd McKissick, and Stokely Carmichael, resumed the 
        Meredith March Against Fear while their leader recovered from the 
        attempted assassination;
Whereas planning for the resumption of the march took place at the Centenary 
        United Methodist Church in Memphis, near the historic LeMoyne-Owen 
        College, and was aided by the church's courageous Reverend James M. 
        Lawson;
Whereas the resumption of march was aided by the Memphis chapter of the 
        N.A.A.C.P. and civil rights leaders Maxine and Vasco Smith, Jesse 
        Turner, Russell Sugarmon, and A.W. Willis, among others;
Whereas, over the next 3 weeks, the marchers weathered violence and tear gas, 
        but accomplished what the Meredith March Against Fear set out to 
        accomplish;
Whereas voter rallies and drives along United States Highway 51 resulted in more 
        than 4,000 African-Americans registering to vote;
Whereas the Meredith March Against Fear featured many African-Americans defying 
        the intimidation of hostile Whites;
Whereas, on June 25, 1966, the leader of the Meredith March Against Fear, along 
        with 125 allies, resumed the march from the Canton, Mississippi, 
        courthouse, located 15 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi;
Whereas the number of marchers doubled to approximately 250 by the time the 
        Meredith March Against Fear reached the city limits of Canton, 
        Mississippi;
Whereas 1 mile north of Tougaloo College, the marchers were met by Dr. Martin 
        Luther King, Jr., and hundreds of additional followers;
Whereas hundreds of supporters were led through the iron-rod gate at the main 
        entrance to the Tougaloo campus in Jackson, Mississippi;
Whereas, on June 26, 1966, the Meredith March Against Fear concluded with a walk 
        from Tougaloo College to the Mississippi State Capitol building in 
        Jackson, Mississippi;
Whereas approximately 15,000 individuals attended the climactic conclusion of 
        the Meredith March Against Fear, making it the largest civil rights 
        demonstration in the history of the State of Mississippi; and
Whereas the self-sufficiency and resolve that motivated the Meredith March 
        Against Fear made its leader a revolutionary and a powerful figure in 
        the history of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) commemorates the 50th anniversary of the ``James H. 
        Meredith March Against Fear'';
            (2) recognizes the discipline and focus required to 
        complete the James H. Meredith March Against Fear during the 
        most contentious decade in the Civil Rights Movement to 
        encourage African-Americans to defy intimidation and register 
        voters; and
            (3) acknowledges the significance of the James H. Meredith 
        March Against Fear.
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