20 U.S.C. § 80s — Findings; purpose

(a) Findings: Congress found: (1) A core American principle is that people should stand up for their rights and beliefs and fight for justice. (2) The Civil Rights movement's actions from the 1950s through the 1960s are a shining example of this — shown in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the sit-ins, the Freedom Rides, the March on Washington, the Mississippi voting-rights drive, and the March to Selma. (3) While the movement had well-known leaders like Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks, many other equally important participants are less well known. (4) These participants hold invaluable firsthand memories, and recording their stories will create a rich, detailed history of this important, turbulent period. (5) It serves the nation's interest to collect oral histories from Civil Rights movement participants, so future generations can learn from primary-source, eyewitness accounts. A coordinated federal project would also draw attention to public and private efforts already collecting and interpreting Civil Rights movement material, and could serve as a model for future projects at museums, libraries, and universities nationwide. (6) The Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution are fitting places to collect, preserve, and share these oral histories, since both have expertise managing documentation projects and developing cultural and educational programs for the public. (b) Purpose: This subchapter's purpose is to create a new, federally sponsored, authorized, and funded project. The project coordinates, at a national level, the collection of video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials from people who took part in the American Civil Rights movement. It builds on and adds to existing documentary work on this subject, and helps and encourages local efforts to preserve these individuals' memories — so Americans now and in the future can hear from them directly and better appreciate the sacrifices they made.