To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Freedom Riders, collectively, in recognition of their unique contribution to Civil Rights, which inspired a revolutionary movement for equality in interstate travel.

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1348 To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Freedom Riders, collectively, in recognition of their unique contribution to Civil Rights, which inspired a revolutionary movement for equality in interstate travel. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 25, 2021 Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BOURDEAUX, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. BROWN, Mrs. BUSTOS, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. COOPER, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KILMER, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. NADLER, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PETERS, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PORTER, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SAR- BANES, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. TITUS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. WELCH, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. YARMUTH, Ms. MENG, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. BASS, and Ms. CASTOR of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Freedom Rid- ers, collectively, in recognition of their unique contribu- tion to Civil Rights, which inspired a revolutionary move- ment for equality in interstate travel. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1348.IH H1348 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1348 IH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 3 The Congress finds the following: 4 (1) In 1960, the Supreme Court ruled in Boyn- 5 ton v. Virginia that segregated bus and rail stations 6 were unconstitutional. 7 (2) The rigid system of racial segregation that 8 prevailed in the United States during the 1960s did 9 not permit a Black person to sit next to a White 10 person on any bus traveling through interstate com- 11 merce and in most locations in the South. Bus sta- 12 tions had ‘‘Whites Only’’ waiting areas and Blacks 13 were not permitted to wait in those areas despite the 14 Supreme Court making it the law of the land. 15 (3) The Freedom Riders, with the intent to end 16 segregation in public transportation throughout the 17 South, paved the way for full racial integration of 18 the United States transit system. They overcame 19 prejudice, discrimination, and violence. They sparked 20 a movement that changed our Nation. 21 (4) The Congress of Racial Equality (C.O.R.E.) 22 selected thirteen volunteers for nonviolent response 23 training to join in the Freedom Rides from Wash- 24 ington, DC, to New Orleans, LA. The Freedom Rid- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1348.IH H1348 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1348 IH ers used their strategies of nonviolence throughout 1 the South to challenge the region’s Jim Crow laws 2 directly and enforce the Supreme Court decision in 3 Boynton. 4 (5) On the morning of May 4, 1961, the Free- 5 dom Riders, comprised of seven Blacks and six 6 Whites, boarded two buses, with Blacks and Whites 7 seated together. Those thirteen Freedom Riders 8 were: Genevieve Hughes Houghton, Charles Person, 9 Hank Thomas, John Lewis, Edward Blankenheim, 10 James Farmer, Walter Bergman, Frances Bergman, 11 Joseph Perkins, Jimmy McDonald, Mae Francis 12 Moultrie, Benjamin Elton Cox, and Albert Bigelow. 13 Most segregated States considered even this level of 14 integration a crime. At various stops along the way, 15 the Freedom Riders would enter areas designated 16 ‘‘Whites’’ and ‘‘Colored’’ and would eat together at 17 segregated lunch counters to defy local laws. 18 (6) Initially, the Freedom Riders had encoun- 19 tered only minor clashes until a stop in South Caro- 20 lina. In Rock Hill, an angry mob severely beat John 21 Lewis, late Congressman from the 5th District of 22 Georgia, when he entered the bus station. Henry 23 ‘‘Hank’’ Thomas was jailed when he entered the bus 24 station in Winnsboro. Authorities delivered him to a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1348.IH H1348 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1348 IH waiting mob long after the station had closed that 1 evening. A local Black minister rescued Thomas, en- 2 abling him to rejoin the group in Columbia. How- 3 ever, Lewis was so badly beaten he could not con- 4 tinue the Freedom Rides. 5 (7) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil 6 rights leaders met with the group in Atlanta to dis- 7 suade their continuance through the Deep South due 8 to death threats. Despite these warnings, more Free- 9 dom Riders joined in Atlanta. Dedicated to their 10 mission to end segregation in the South and trained 11 in nonviolent movements, the Freedom Riders con- 12 tinued on their journey. 13 (8) On Mother’s Day, May 14, 1961, the Free- 14 dom Riders were on two different buses. An angry 15 mob in Anniston, Alabama, firebombed the first bus. 16 When the Freedom Riders rushed out, still choking 17 from the thick smoke of the burning bus, the wait- 18 ing angry mob beat them with lead pipes and base- 19 ball bats as the bus exploded. Ambulances refused to 20 transport the Black Freedom Riders to the hospital. 21 The mob beat the Freedom Riders on the second bus 22 and forced them to sit in the back. As they jour- 23 neyed to Birmingham, another mob savagely beat 24 the Freedom Riders. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1348.IH H1348 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1348 IH (9) The Nashville (TN) Student Group, a local 1 group of students who had been successful in deseg- 2 regating the lunch counters and movie theaters in 3 Nashville (TN), vowed not to let these acts of vio- 4 lence curtail the goal of the Freedom Rides. They 5 sent their members to continue the Freedom Rides 6 and called out to other student groups to do the 7 same. 8 (10) As the violence grew, the Attorney General 9 of the United States called in the National Guard 10 and the U.S. Marshals to protect the Freedom Rid- 11 ers as they journeyed through Alabama. This protec- 12 tion was short-lived. The Federal authorities turned 13 the Freedom Riders over to the local authorities in 14 Mississippi who then arrested the Freedom Riders 15 for disturbing the peace. 16 (11) The government of Mississippi imprisoned 17 many of the Freedom Riders in Parchman Prison 18 known for its horrific conditions, such as subjecting 19 the Freedom Riders to strip searches, work on chain 20 gangs, and light shining in their cells 24 hours a 21 day. Despite these conditions, the Freedom Riders 22 refused bail because they were determined to spread 23 the message of their nonviolent movement. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1348.IH H1348 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1348 IH (12) Five months after the first Freedom Rid- 1 ers left on their historic ride, the Interstate Com- 2 merce Commission in conjunction with the U.S. At- 3 torney General Robert Kennedy issued a Federal 4 order banning segregation at all interstate public fa- 5 cilities based upon ‘‘race, color or creed’’. The law 6 became effective on November 1, 1961. 7 (13) In 2011, Barack Obama, the President of 8 the United States paid tribute to the Freedom Rid- 9 ers with a Presidential proclamation honoring the 10 50th anniversary of the first Freedom Ride by brave 11 Americans whose selfless act of courage helped pave 12 the way for others to continue on the road to Civil 13 Rights in America. 14 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 15 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZATION.—The Speaker 16 of the House of Representatives and the President pro 17 tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrange- 18 ments for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of 19 a gold medal of appropriate design to the Freedom Riders, 20 collectively, in recognition of their unique contribution to 21 Civil Rights, which inspired a revolutionary movement to 22 equality in interstate travel. 23 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 24 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1348.IH H1348 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1348 IH Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec- 1 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 2 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec- 3 retary. 4 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 6 gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal 7 shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where 8 it will be available for display as appropriate and 9 available for research. 10 (2) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense 11 of the Congress that the Smithsonian Institution 12 should make the gold medal awarded pursuant to 13 this Act available for display elsewhere, particularly 14 at appropriate locations associated with the Freedom 15 Riders. 16 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 17 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 18 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 19 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 20 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 21 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1348.IH H1348 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1348 IH SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS. 1 Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national med- 2 als for the purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United 3 States Code. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1348.IH H1348 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS