[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 8 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 8

Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States Postal Service 
should issue a commemorative stamp honoring the 50th anniversary of the 
 three civil rights marches from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama 
    that took place over the course of several weeks in March 1965.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 4, 2015

Mr. Brown (for himself, Mr. Scott, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. 
Donnelly, Mr. Coons, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Warren, Ms. Collins, 
   Mrs. Capito, and Mr. Portman) submitted the following concurrent 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States Postal Service 
should issue a commemorative stamp honoring the 50th anniversary of the 
 three civil rights marches from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama 
    that took place over the course of several weeks in March 1965.

Whereas, on March 7, 1965 ``Bloody Sunday'', approximately 600 civil rights 
        marchers, led by now-Representative John Lewis of the Student Nonviolent 
        Coordinating Committee and Reverend Hosea Williams of the Southern 
        Christian Leadership Conference, headed east out of Selma, Alabama, to 
        the State Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama;
Whereas the civil rights activists sought to protest discriminatory voter 
        registration practices, and the shooting of Jimmie Lee Jackson, who was 
        shot after protecting his mother and grandfather in a civil rights 
        demonstration on February 18, 1965, in a restaurant in Marion, Alabama, 
        and died eight days later on February 26, 1965;
Whereas the nonviolent marchers were met and attacked with clubs, whips, police 
        dogs, and tear gas carried by State troopers, local lawmen, and 
        townspeople at the Edmund Pettus Bridge as they were leaving Selma;
Whereas dozens of peaceful marchers were injured in the forced retreat by State 
        troopers, local lawmen, and townspeople;
Whereas images of innocent protestors brutally beaten and severely injured on 
        March 7, 1965, remembered as ``Bloody Sunday'', were depicted in 
        television screens and in newspaper articles across the country;
Whereas Bloody Sunday galvanized a generation of civil rights activists, and 
        heightened support and awareness for the civil rights movement;
Whereas, on March 9, 1965, two days later, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., led 
        a nonviolent protest reportedly as many as 2,500 people before turning 
        around after crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge due to a barricade of 
        State troopers;
Whereas, on March 15, 1965, despite pressure from political figures, U.S. 
        District Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr., issued an injunction allowing the 
        voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery to proceed, overturning 
        then-Alabama Governor George Wallace's prohibition of the protest;
Whereas, on March 21, 1965, with the protection of U.S. Army troops and the 
        Alabama National Guard, more than 3,000 people, led by Reverend Martin 
        Luther King, Jr., set out from Selma to Montgomery, a 54-mile journey, 
        marching an average of twelve miles a day along Route 80 and sleeping in 
        fields;
Whereas the nonviolent protestors safely reached the steps of the Alabama State 
        Capitol on March 25, 1965, by which point their numbers had grown to 
        25,000, including many religious and community leaders of all 
        denominations, races, and backgrounds;
Whereas during these pivotal weeks, on March 17, 1965, and with the Selma 
        protestors at the forefront, President Lyndon Johnson addressed a joint 
        session of Congress, calling for Federal voting rights legislation to 
        protect African-Americans from barriers that prevented them from voting;
Whereas with the Nation captivated by the courage and conviction displayed by 
        the civil rights activists, the United States Congress passed and 
        President Lyndon B. Johnson enacted into law the landmark Voting Rights 
        Act of 1965 on August 6, 1965; and
Whereas issuing a postage stamp honoring the fiftieth anniversary of the civil 
        rights marches is fitting and proper because the marches united our 
        country and helped affirm the principle that all Americans shall be 
        treated equally at the voting booths as guaranteed under the United 
        States Constitution: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Postmaster General should issue a commemorative 
        postage stamp honoring the 50th anniversary of the three civil 
        rights marches from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama; and
            (2) such stamp should--
                    (A) be issued in the denomination used for first-
                class mail up to 1 ounce in weight;
                    (B) bear such illustration or picture as the 
                Postmaster General determines; and
                    (C) be placed in sale at such time and for such 
                period as the Postmaster General determines.
                                 <all>