Bill > HJR7020

This Joint Resolution formally honors the memory and ultimate sacrifice of specific civil rights activists—often referred to as civil rights martyrs—who were killed while fighting to secure voting rights for Black Americans in the American South during the 1950s and 1960s. The resolution provides historical context detailing how these tragic deaths, which included murders by segregationists and Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members, outraged the nation and galvanized the political support necessary to pass the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, a crucial federal law that outlawed discriminatory voting practices like literacy tests. By adopting this resolution, the Tennessee General Assembly officially recognizes these individuals for paving the way for the crown jewel of the Civil Rights Movement and directs that commemorative copies of the resolution be prepared and distributed.