To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, located in Greensboro, North Carolina, as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

April 29, 2003

Mr. WATT (for himself, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. ROSS, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. CAPUANO, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. FORBES, and Mr. HINCHEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, located in Greensboro, North Carolina, as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `International Civil Rights Center and Museum Study Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE STUDY REGARDING INTERNATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS CENTER AND MUSEUM, GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA.

(a) FINDINGS- The Congress finds the following:

(1) On February 1, 1960, 4 North Carolina A&T State University students, Ezell Blair, Jr., Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond, sat at the whites-only lunch counter of a Woolworth store in Greensboro, North Carolina, to protest segregation.

(2) In the following days hundreds of students joined the protest and participated in the Woolworth sit-in.

(3) The Woolworth sit-in inspired similar sit-ins in hundreds of communities throughout the United States and was instrumental in leading to the desegregation of public facilities in the South.

(4) The Woolworth sit-in was a prominent event in the history of the civil rights movement.

(5) Woolworth closed the lunch counter in the Greensboro store in October 1993 and donated a section of the counter, 4 stools, and other items to the Smithsonian Institution for display at the National Museum of American History.

(6) The former Woolworth store is located in a district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

(7) Community leaders and businesses in Greensboro have undertaken significant efforts to preserve this historic site and convert the former Woolworth store into a museum devoted to the history of the civil rights movement.

(b) DEFINITIONS- In this section:

(1) MUSEUM- The term `Museum' means the International Civil Rights Center and Museum located in Greensboro, North Carolina.

(2) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service.

(c) STUDY- The Secretary shall, in consultation with the State of North Carolina, carry out a study on the suitability and feasibility of designating the Museum as a unit of the National Park System.

(d) STUDY PROCESS AND COMPLETION- Section 8(c) of Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5(c)) shall apply to the conduct and completion of the study required by this section.

(e) SUBMISSION OF STUDY RESULTS-

(1) REPORT- The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report describing the results of the study.

(2) FINDINGS INCLUDED IN REPORT- In addition to findings with respect to the matters specified in section 8(c) of Public Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5(c)), the report shall contain findings with respect to--

(A) the types of Federal, State, and local programs that are available to assist with the development of the Museum; and

(B) the potential use of, and coordination with, Federal, State, and local programs to assist in the management of the historical and cultural resources of the Museum.

END