Cohen Introduces Bill to Honor the Champions of the Civil Rights Movement With a Congressional Gold Medal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN) today introduced legislation to honor the pioneers and participants of the Civil Rights Movement with a Congressional Gold Medal. The measure is also sponsored by Reps. John Lewis (D-GA), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Bob Filner (D-CA), Gwen Moore (D-CA), Danny Davis (D-IL), Al Green (D-TX), Keith Ellison (D-MN) and more than 30 others.

“It’s important that we honor the champions of the Civil Rights Movement,” said Congressman Cohen. “From marches and sit-ins to bus rides and the integration of schools, thousands of ordinary people had the courage to do extraordinary things. Just as we honor our soldiers and veterans who defend our freedoms abroad, we should recognize and honor those who stood up to injustice here at home.”

A report published by the Southern Poverty Law Center in September 2011 found that many students across the country do not know much about the modern Civil Rights Movement. On the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress U.S. History Exam, high school seniors nationwide were given the following quote and asked what condition this 1954 court decision was designed to correct: “To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority … that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone. … We conclude that in the field of public education separate but equal has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

The report cited that only two percent of 12,000 high school seniors provided the correct answer, which is the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. The Civil Rights Movement is a significant part of American history that should be taught and the champions of this movement should be honored and recognized.