The National Park Service has been authorized to establish a program to preserve and protect historic sites connected to the Civil Rights Movement, as the African American Civil Rights Network Act was signed into law on Tuesday, January 9.
The bipartisan legislation was championed by U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (D-Missouri), U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and U.S. Rep. Jason Smith (R-Missouri), with 72 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle in the U.S. House.
“The African American Civil Rights Network Act will recognize, preserve, protect and share the remarkable American story of the modern struggle for civil rights, a unique national experience that touches every American, regardless of their age, ethnicity or heritage,” Clay said.
“The historic network will create tremendous educational opportunities by recognizing those brave souls from all walks of life who fought to make the promises enshrined in our constitution finally ring true.”
The new law is similar to legislation that created The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998, presently administered by the National Park Service.
“In too many places across this country, precious historic waypoints along the routes of that still-largely-untold story are at risk of being lost forever,” Clay said. “My hope is that the historic civil rights network and the programs that will grow from this law will honestly tell the full and sometimes painful story of the struggle for civil rights, not just for African Americans, but to foster healing, tolerance and understanding among all Americans.”
The law is supported by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Urban League, the NAACP and the National Parks Conservation Association
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