Title 20, EducationRelease 119-73not60

§80s–1 Establishment of Joint Project at Library of Congress and National Museum of African American History and Culture to Collect Video and Audio Recordings of Histories of Participants in American Civil Rights Movement

Title 20 › Chapter 3— SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, NATIONAL MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERIES › Subchapter XV— CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY PROJECT › § 80s–1

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Librarian of Congress and the Secretary of the Smithsonian must start a joint oral history project to collect audio and video recordings of people who took part in the Civil Rights movement. At first, they must look for existing recordings in archives, libraries, museums, and schools so they can add to those collections and avoid repeating work. They must gather personal interviews, testimonials, and related papers and photos, make a cataloged collection, and share it with the public through the Library of Congress, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and other ways they choose. The Secretary will act through the Director of that museum. They may work with other government or private groups, hire temporary help, use volunteers and pay travel costs, and make advance payments as allowed by law. They must begin collecting as soon as practicable after May 12, 2009, and try first to record the oldest participants. Civil Rights movement: the effort to win racial equality for African Americans, focusing on 1954 through 1968, which fought segregation and won equal-rights laws.

Full Legal Text

Title 20, §80s–1

Education, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Within the limits of available funds, the Librarian of Congress (hereafter referred to as the “Librarian”) and the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (hereafter referred to as the “Secretary)”,11 So in original. The closing quotation marks probably should precede the closing parenthesis. acting jointly, shall establish an oral history project—

(A)to survey, during the initial phase of the project, collections of audio and video recordings of the reminiscences of participants in the Civil Rights movement that are housed in archives, libraries, museums, and other educational institutions, as well as ongoing documentary work, in order to augment and complement these endeavors and avoid duplication of effort;

(B)to solicit, reproduce, and collect—

(i)video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of individuals who participated in the Civil Rights movement, and

(ii)visual and written materials (such as letters, diaries, photographs, and ephemera) relevant to the personal histories of individuals;

(C)to create a collection of the recordings and other materials obtained, and to catalog and index the collection in a manner the Librarian and the Secretary consider appropriate; and

(D)to make the collection available for public use through the Library of Congress and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, as well as through such other methods as the Librarian and the Secretary consider appropriate.

(2)The Secretary shall carry out the Secretary’s duties under this subchapter through the Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

(b)The Librarian and the Secretary may carry out the activities described in subsection (a)(1) through agreements and partnerships entered into with other government and private entities, and may otherwise consult with interested persons (within the limits of available resources) and develop appropriate guidelines and arrangements for soliciting, acquiring, and making available recordings under the project under this subchapter.

(c)In carrying out activities described in subsection (a)(1), the Librarian and the Secretary may—

(1)procure temporary and intermittent services under section 3109 of title 5;

(2)accept and utilize the services of volunteers and other uncompensated personnel and reimburse them for travel expenses, including per diem, as authorized under section 5703 of title 5; and

(3)make advances of money and payments in advance in accordance with section 3324 of title 31.

(d)As soon as practicable after May 12, 2009, the Librarian and the Secretary shall begin collecting video and audio recordings and other materials under subsection (a)(1), and shall attempt to collect the first such recordings from the oldest individuals involved.

(e)In this subchapter, the term “Civil Rights movement” means the movement to secure racial equality in the United States for African Americans that, focusing on the period 1954 through 1968, challenged the practice of racial segregation in the Nation and achieved equal rights legislation for all American citizens.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

20 U.S.C. § 80s–1

Title 20, Education

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60