[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 159 (Thursday, October 29, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10927-S10928]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. MIKULSKI (for herself and Mr. Cardin):
  S. 2095. A bill to amend the National Great Black Americans 
Commemoration Act of 2004 to authorize appropriations through fiscal 
year 2015; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce the National 
Great Black Americans Commemoration Act. I am proud to sponsor this 
legislation along with Senator Cardin. African Americans have a rich 
history that must be cherished and remembered. This bill will honor 
African American leaders from across the country by helping to preserve 
their names, faces, and stories for generations to come.
  This legislation will provide continued Federal assistance to expand 
exhibits and educational programs at the National Great Blacks in Wax 
Museum and Justice Learning Center in Baltimore, MD. Some of the 
memorialized figures are household names, like: Frederick Douglass, Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr., and President Barack Obama. Yet many more are 
unfamiliar, like the 22 African Americans who served in Congress in the 
1800s. It is time we give these pioneers the recognition they deserve.
  Maryland is proud to be home to so many important figures in African 
American history. From the dark days of slavery through the civil 
rights movement, Marylanders have led the way. The brilliant Frederick 
Douglass was the voice of the voiceless in the struggle against 
slavery. The courageous Harriet Tubman delivered 300 slaves to freedom 
on the Underground Railroad. The great Thurgood Marshall, a man who was 
no stranger to the restriction of educational opportunity, successfully 
argued the Brown

[[Page S10928]]

v. Board of Education case before the Supreme Court, and later became a 
Supreme Court Justice himself. These three amazing individuals were 
Marylanders.
  It is fitting that the national Great Blacks in Wax Museum and 
Justice Learning Center also calls Baltimore home. The museum and 
learning center is a popular and respected African American history 
museum. Approximately 300,000 people a year from around the country and 
the world visit the museum. Many are school children, who can see 
historical figures come to life in the museum's exhibits. Expansion 
will allow the museum to teach even more visitors about the important 
contributions of African Americans.
  Private donors have contributed too. Now it is time for the Federal 
Government to reaffirm its commitment.
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