Civil Rights History Project Act of 2009 Passed by House of Representatives

"A fundamental principle of American democracy is that individuals should stand up for their rights and beliefs and fight for justice." ~ Civil Rights History Project Act of 2009.

Yesterday, the House of Representatives unanimously agreed to fund a 5-year initiative to record oral and video histories of those who lived during the African American Civil Rights movement between 1954 and 1968.

"While the Civil Rights movement had many visible leaders, including Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks, there were many others whose impact and experience were just as important to the cause but who are not as well known," reads the Civil Rights History Project Act of 2009.

Now a half a century later, there is a need to collect these personal histories before these voices are lost. The bill specifies that the Library of Congress and the National Museum of African American History and Culture work together to carry out the act. The bill has yet to be approved by the Senate or signed into law by President Obama.

The Civil Rights History Project Act of 2009 is sponsored by Representatives Carolyn McCarthy of New York, Sanford Bishop of Georgia, and John Lewis, also of Georgia.

Joseph Caputo | | READ MORE

Joseph Caputo is a former editorial intern for Smithsonian and now a freelance science writer and editor based in Boston, Massachusetts.