Youre watching American History tv. 48 hours of programming on American History every weekend on cspan3. Follow us on twitter cspanhistory for information on our schedule, upcoming programs, and to keep up with the latest history news. On wednesday, february 11, members of the u. S. House of representatives introduced a bill on the floor to award a congressional gold medal to the participants in the march selma to montgomery Voting Rights marches. Next, and a boat thats a debate on the bill, which later passed. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of this very important bill, h. R. 431, a bipartisan bill to award a congressional gold medal to the foot soldiers, the courageous men and women who participated in historical days like bloody sunday, turnaround tuesday, and the final march from selma to montgomery to ensure Voting Rights for african americans. Mr. Speaker, sometimes it is hard for people in Todays Society to realize the historical significance of the events that took place in the past, or for younger people, it may seem like a lifetime ago but for those who lived through those experienced, it might feel like it just happened yesterday. One series of events that we cannot and must not allow to fade away are the historic marches that began in selma in march 1965. Led by two fearless men, mr. Hosea williams and a man many of people know in this room, representative john lewis, 500 of those brave soldiers, determined to have their voices heard and their right to vote he recognized as they lined up at the Edmund Pettus bridge. These initial marchers were then rudely assaulted and then beaten by Alabama State troopers as they attempted to cross the bridge, seeking to have their constitutional right to vote. That became known as bloody sunday. Two days later, foot soldiers led by dr. Martin luther king jr. Peacefully assembled and again attempted to cross the bridge. The group marched to where the attacks occurred a few days before on bloody sunday, and at dr. Kings request, they stopped and knelt in prayer. Following the prayer, the marchers turned around and returned to selma. Then on march 21, under the protection of federal troops and the Alabama National guard, that group had swollen to 8000 foot soldiers who were escorted safely for 54 miles from selma to montgomery. By the time it reached the State Capitol steps, that group had grown to approximately 25,000 people strong there on the steps in montgomery. Mr. Speaker, instead of bringing the campaign to search for Voting Rights to a halt, 50 years ago the photographs from blurry Television Images of that violent attack on bloody sunday on that bridge galvanized the National Attention. In fact, the first march was a catalyst for action. Just five short months after the first march, congress had passed and president johnson has signed into law the Voting Rights act. Mr. Speaker, we as a nation must assure that Voting Rights are protected for all americans, and in doing so, we must remember the sacrifices of those individuals who came before us and who worked so tirelessly to make Voting Rights equal. To make a difference and to create Voting Rights equally. It is truly a privilege for me personally to stand before u. S. Congress recognizes these brave men and women and the historical significance of those marches that began in soma and forever in selma and forever changed the direction of our great nation. I thank the gentlelady and representative for highlighting the historic events, and i urge all of my colleagues to support h. R. 431, and with that, i reserve the balance of my time. The gentleman yields back the balance of his time, and the gentlewoman from alabama is recognized. Mr. Speaker, i rise in strong support of h. R. 431 and yield myself such time as i consume. The gentlewoman is recognized. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I want to thank the derailment gentle man from michigan on the floor for support of h. R. 431. I have enjoyed our bipartisan working relationship on committee and am pleased to share this debate time with him. Mr. Speaker, i rise today in support of h. R. 431, a bill to award a congressional gold medal to the foot soldiers super who participated in bloody sunday, turnaround tuesday, or the final selma Voting Rights march in 1965. March 7, 2015, will mark 50 years since the courageous foot soldiers of the Voting RightsMovement First attempted to march from selma to montgomery to protest the denial of their Voting Rights. Let by our colleague john lewis of easthe Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and reverend Hosea Williams of the southern christian leadership conference, these put soldiers foot soldiers began the march towards the Alabama State capital in montgomery. They pledged to keep on walking until they secured the freedom promised to them by the u. S. Constitution. As they crossed the bridge, a wall of Alabama State troopers were waiting at the foot of the bridge. News stations from across the country televised the brutality that followed as foot soldiers like isaiah williams, john lewis, Amelia Boynton robinson reverend f devries, bob nantz and Albert Turner senior and so , many others were attacked on the bridge on what has become known as bloody sunday. The journey of the foot soldiers we honor today was not an easy one. They were discriminated by whites and ostracized by blacks who were afraid to join them but still, they persevered because they could no longer bear the burden of secondclass citizenship. The president of the Dallas CountyVoters League was not going to let nobody turn him around, he told me. He said given the conditions that existed in selma and the south at the time, he wanted to make sure that things were different. He was willing to do whatever was necessary to assure that people, no matter their race color, or creed, would have the right to vote. He said the lord gave us determination to keep moving forward. We were determined to let the lord lead us and direct us so that all people, regardless of their color, would have access to the political process. We were not at all afraid, he went on, because we were determined whatever it took, even if it meant our lives, we were going to move alabama and the state and this nation or word. A million Boynton Robinson literally felt the blows as she was on the bridge by Alabama State troopers and left for dead. Some suffered no damage that may more resolve than ever to continue the fight for equal Voting Rights. Two days after bloody sunday more than 2500 foot soldiers heeded the call when dr. Martin luther king came to selma to join the marchers. In 1965, led by dr. King and many clergy from across this nation, the foot soldiers once again left from the Historic Brown Chapel Church and walked to the Edmund Pettus bridge. Dr. Kings stopped while a sea of state troopers stepped aside. On bending knees, dr. King began to pray. As thousands of marchers join him. As if moved by the spirit, dr. King turned around and walked back to the church. Tuesday was not to be the day to complete the 54mile journey. The second march was known as turnaround tuesday. The fight for Voting Rights with white both on the streets and in the courtroom. Attorney fred gray helped pave the way for the final selma to montgomery march get he was a member of the legal team who represented williams, john lewis, and a million Boynton Robinson in williams versus wallace. Because of his work and the courage of an alabama federal judge, federal judge Frank Johnson ruled that the foot soldiers had a First Amendment right to petition the government through peaceful protests and ordered federal agents to move full protection, to provide full protection to the foot soldiers in the selma to montgomery march. Under court order, they had the National Guard in countless federal agencies and marshals who escorted more than a thousand foot soldiers on march 21, 1965. At these brave men and women began their historic 54mile journey from selma to the steps of the Alabama State capital in montgomery, alabama. The extraordinary bravery and sacrifices these foot soldiers displayed in pursuit of a peaceful march from selma to montgomery brought National Attention to the struggle for equal Voting Rights, and served as a catalyst for congress to pass the Voting Rights act of 1965, which president lyndon b. Johnson signed into law in 1965. Mr. Speaker, as alabamas first black congresswoman, i know that the journey i take was only made possible because of the courage and bravery of the soldiers of the Voting Rights movement. As a native, a proud native of selma, and a u. S. Representative who now represents selma and parts of montgomery, i am the direct beneficiary of their sacrifice. During this 50th commemoration of the Voting Rights movement and the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights act of 1965, it is fitting that this august body would give them our highest civilian honor, a congressional gold medal for their valor and determination in relentlessly pursuing the promise of our great constitution. That all men and women were, indeed, created equal. I am proud to be joined by my colleague martha roby and the entire alabama congressional delegation, representatives brooks palmer, and others as original cosponsors of this congressional gold medal bill. I want to thank be more than 300 colleagues who also signed on to the bill. A special thanks to the leadership of both parties speaker boehner, majority leader mccarthy, and minority leader pelosi for their support in getting this legislation on the floor today. This would not have been possible without the help and support of the chairman and Ranking Member waters of the House Financial Services committee. To the gentleman from michigan mr. Heisenberg thank you. , it is an honor to stand with you today to pay tribute to the foot soldiers of the Voting Rights movement. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on h. R. 431, a bill that honors the foot soldiers who participated in bloody sunday, turnaround tuesday, and the final march from selma to montgomery with a congressional medal, which is congresss highest civilian metal, a powerful reminder of the many sacrifices that were made. You know, they say that the price of freedom is never free. Well, the foot soldiers of the Voting Rights movement take the ultimate price so this nation could live up to the ideals of equality and justice for all. This nation should never forget those who marched, prayed, and diee in the pursuit of civil rights, Voting Rights, and social change. I urge my colleagues to join us in voting in favor of h. R. 431. Mr. Speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The gentlewoman from alabama reserves the balance of her time. The gentleman from michigan is recognizable stop i would like to give as much time as she may consume to miss roby. The gentlewoman from alabama is recognize. D. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I, too, want to echo the sentiments of my colleague from alabama in thanking leadership and all of the leadership on both sides of the house for their willingness to jump right on this so that we could achieve passage both here in the house and in the senate in time for the anniversary, the 50th anniversary, of bloody sunday. I am so proud, just standing here listening to my colleagues speak. I am so proud to have the privilege and the opportunity to cosponsor this bill to award a congressional gold medal to the brave men and women who not only changed alabama and america, but they changed the world. As we look to the 50th anniversary of bloody sunday, it is certainly fitting to honor the brave individuals who addressed brutality and took a stand for their godgiven rights, so thank you to my colleague terry sewall for your hard work on this very important , worthy legislation. I have also been honored, mr. Speaker, to serve alongside my colleague from alabama ms. S ewall, in recruiting members of this body and the senate to join us in the pilgrimage led by john lewis to alabama for the anniversary on the sixth seventh, and eighth of next month, and i am proud to say we have a Record Number of colleagues that are really into participating of the obvious significance of this day, so i look forward to alongside all of my colleagues in the alabama delegation, who again i thank as well as ms. Sewell, for their willingness to host our colleagues all around the country from all over the country in birmingham, in montgomery, in selma, and other places, very important places to the civil Rights Movement, and to hear from those who lived it. One of the things that we did alongside this congressional gold medal, mr. Speaker, was to invite our colleagues to come to a screening of the movie selma, and as a girl growing up in montgomery, alabama, who did not live through this very important time in history, it was honestly one of the moments in my time in congress to sit in the room with my colleague mr. Lewis and experience through that visual on the screen what he lived in his life, and it was a unique and special moment and one that i will personally treasure for a very long time. Mr. Speaker, it is to mr. Lewis and all of those that join him ed him in standing up for justice that we seek to honor with this congressional gold medal. And there is no higher honor that we, as members of congress, can bestow. Yet, it seems like such a small token of gratitude compared to the magnitude of the endeavors of those who lived through this those days. My daughter margaret, mr. Speaker, who you often hear me talk about, both margaret and george, but margaret is in the fourth grade, and like a lot of states, in the fourth grade and alabama you learn a lot about , alabama history, and this is such an important time in her life as she learns about our state and its history, and the civil Rights Movement is certainly an integral part, a very important part of our history, so she is coming with me on the pilgrimage next month, and she will be able to meet and know firsthand the people who fought to change the world. It is difficult for those of us who were not alive during the civil Rights Movement sometimes to wrap our minds about it, but alongside my daughter, i am very much looking for to this special time that we, as a congress, have the opportunity to reflect on this important history. I am again honored, mr. Speaker, to be a part of this bill, and i just thank, again, all of my colleagues who very quickly joined with us so we could get this done to honor those brave foot soldiers that changed not just our country but the world. So i, too, asked that all of my colleagues join me in voting in favor of h. R. 431. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I yield back. The gentleman from alabama yields back the rest of her time. The gentleman from michigan reserves. The gentlewoman from alabama is recognize. Mr. Speaker, i yield one minute to the gentleman, tennessee. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized for one minute. Thank you, mr. Speaker, and i thank the representative for bringing this amendment. It is important we recognize the foot soldiers. They were americans who came together and saw injustice and wanted toight it. One person was killed right after the march to montgomery, another in mississippi in conjunction with this, and thousands of people came to the south so that people got the right to vote. It is hard to believe that people were denied the right to vote in this country, and they were. And that was touched on by the words of my colleague from alabama. That was historic, but you do not only have to see the movie. And give them a gold medal. You need to live it, and people are being denied Voting Rights today in this country, and the Supreme Court emasculated the Voting Rights act. It needs to be reinstated. There are civil rights that can be reformed and enacted today. The movement is not over. The movement continues. A medal is good, but this must continue on the floor to make sure that all people have their rights to vote, their right to participate, and their rights not to have state judges tell probate clerk not to enforce them. I yield back the balance of my time. The gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from michigan is recognized. Thank you, mr. Speaker, and i now yield two minutes to the gentleman from florida, mr. Ross. From the Financial Services committee, which has been dealing with this issue. The gentleman from florida is recognized for two minutes. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Today, i rise in support to this that would give the metal for those who march from selma alabama, to the state capital in montgomery in march 1965. As an adopted son, educated at auburn university, it is an absolute honor to recognize these peaceloving, godfearing patriots. These marchers led by civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther king jr. In john lewis changed the history. Ultimately, their fearless efforts led to the Voting Rights act of 1965. The congressional gold medal is the highest civilian award presented by congress, and i can think of no better time than on the 50th anniversary to honor and recognize the civil rights leaders who sacrificed so greatly to bring equality to the voiceless across the united states. May their diligence and sacrifice and dedication to this cause stay an example to all of us as we continue to serve in this chamber and in every aspect of our lives. I yield back. The gentleman yields back. The gentlewoman from alabama rises. Mr. Speaker, i yield one minute. The gentlewoman from North Carolina is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker. A bill to award a congressional gold medal to the foot soldiers and the final march from selma to montgomery which was a catalyst for the Voting Rights act of 1965. Im proud to cosponsor this bill and stand with congresswoman sewell and her delegation and one of the greatest leaders in the civil Rights Movement, congressman john lewis. Its important that we recognize the civil rights titans whose sacrifices and essential part of mesh history. As we honor yesterdays foot soldiers with a congressional gold medal, let us remember that we are still in the fight. In my hometown state of North Carolina we are battling a new rollback on voters rights. One of the most regressive laws we have passed. Toe fully honor the foot soldiers sacrifice, we must keep fighting and restore the important protections that have been stripped from the Voting Rights act. Thank you for joining me in honoring these american heroes. Mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from North Carolina yields back the balance of her time. The gentlewoman from alabama reserves. The gentleman from michigan is recognized. Mr. Huizenga thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. Mccarthy, the distinguished House Majority leader. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. Mr. Mccarthy i thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker i do want to thank the authors of this bill. Congresswoman roby and congresswoman sewell for their work on this. I appreciate it. We are blessed in this nation to enjoy the privileges of democracy and to exercise our freedoms without fear. But sadly for millions of africanamericans in our history, that has not been the case. James cooper author of the American Workers like the last of the mohicans and american democrat once said. The man who can right himself by a vote will seldom resort to a musket. The opposite is also true. People denied their rights might well resort to violence. Its not difficult to see why. With no established form of recourse, what choice do those denied their freedoms have . The people we honor today chose a different path. These nonviolent, civil rights activists did not take the road of hate. Their generations quest for freedom, they didnt corrupt themselves with the sins of those who worked against them. They fought for the rights due to every person, not with weapons, but with the force of rhetoric and virtue of peace. I remember just a few years ago i was walking with my friend, congressman john lewis, through selma, alabama. We walked on the same path of the selma to montgomery march that john led 50 years ago. We crossed the Edmund Pettus bridge in peace that day, but when john led the march across the same bridge in 1965 he was beaten by a mob of state troopers and deputized citizens. John cannot remember who carried him, but wounded and bloodied as john told it to me, he was taken away to a church with a head injury. He did not know if he would even live. Those marchers at selma demonstrated physical courage. But they also demonstrated the highest moral courage. Under the onslaught of brutality and uncertainty, they did not match violence with violence. No, they nanded peace demanded peace in the face of war. Solidarity in the face of division. And love in the face of hate. For all of americas shortcomings, these brave men and women demanded that the promise of america not to be discarded. But instead realized by being purified in practice. They held america to its promise by doing so they put their lives at risk suffered ridicule, and bodily harm. And yet in history they were vindicated