Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 124.djvu/4558

124 STAT. 4532 CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS—MAR. 16, 2010 Whereas Congressman John Lewis and the late Hosea Williams led these marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where they were attacked with billy clubs and tear gas by State and local lawmen; Whereas during the march on Bloody Sunday, Congressman Lewis was beaten unconscious, leaving him with a concussion and count- less other injuries; Whereas footage of the events on Bloody Sunday was broadcast on national television that night and burned its way into the Nation’s conscience; Whereas the courage, discipline, and sacrifice of these marchers caused the Nation to respond quickly and positively; Whereas eight days after Bloody Sunday, President Lyndon B. Johnson called for a comprehensive and effective voting rights bill as a necessary response by Congress and the President to the interference and violence, in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments, encountered by African-American citizens when attempting to protect and exercise the right to vote; Whereas a bipartisan Congress approved the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and on August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed this landmark legislation into law; Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 stands as a tribute to the heroism of countless people in the United States and serves as one of the Nation’s most important civil rights victories, enabling political empowerment and voter enfranchisement for all people in the United States; Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 effectuates the permanent guarantee of the 15th Amendment that ‘‘the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude’’; Whereas the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has increased voter registra- tion among racial, ethnic, and language minorities, as well as enhanced the ability of those citizens to participate in the political process and elect representatives of their choice to public office; and Whereas the citizens of the United States must not only remember this historic event, but also commemorate its role in the creation of a more just society and appreciate the ways in which it has inspired other movements around the world: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concur- ring), That Congress— (1) commemorates the 45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday; (2) observes and celebrates the 45th anniversary of the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; (3) pledges to advance the legacy of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to ensure its continued effectiveness in protecting the voting rights of all people in the United States; and