Awarding Congressional Gold Medal to the Foot Soldiers who Participated in Bloody Sunday, Tuenaround Tuesday, or the Final Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March in March of 1965

Floor Speech

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Ms. ADAMS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 431, a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the foot soldiers who participated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, and the final march from Selma to Montgomery, which was a catalyst for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

I am proud to cosponsor this bill and to stand with Congresswoman Sewell and her delegation and one of the greatest leaders in the civil rights movement, Congressman John Lewis.

It is important that we recognize the civil rights titans whose sacrifice is an essential part of American history. As we honor yesterday's foot soldiers with a Congressional Gold Medal, let us remember that we are still in the fight.

In my home State of North Carolina, we are battling a new rollback on voters' rights. It was one of the most regressive laws we have passed. To fully honor the foot soldiers' sacrifice, we must keep fighting and restore the important protections that have been stripped from the Voting Rights Act.

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