[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1718 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1718
To establish the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in
the State of Maryland and provide for its administration as an
affiliated area of the National Park System, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 27, 2025
Mr. Mfume (for himself, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Harris of Maryland, Mr. Raskin,
Mr. Ivey, Mr. Olszewski, Ms. Elfreth, Mrs. McClain Delaney, Ms. Norton,
Mr. Meeks, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Carson, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Goldman
of New York, Mrs. McIver, and Mr. Fields) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in
the State of Maryland and provide for its administration as an
affiliated area 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 ``Justice Thurgood Marshall National
Historic Site Establishment Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Thurgood Marshall led the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense and
Educational Fund from 1940 to 1961, and successfully argued 29
of 32 civil rights cases before the United States Supreme
Court, including the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education
case that ended racial segregation of public schools.
(2) Thurgood Marshall was appointed by President John F.
Kennedy to serve as a Judge on the United States Court of
Appeals for the 2nd Circuit from 1961 to 1965. He was then
appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to serve as United
States Solicitor General from 1965 to 1967.
(3) Nominated by President Lyndon Johnson and confirmed by
the United States Senate, Thurgood Marshall became the first
African American to serve on the United States Supreme Court
and served as an Associate Justice from 1967 to 1991.
(4) As a result of his long legal career, Thurgood Marshall
is credited with ending legal segregation in America.
(5) Public School 103, now better known as the Justice
Thurgood Marshall School, located at 1315 Division Street in
Baltimore, Maryland, was the site of Thurgood Marshall's
elementary education.
(6) The Justice Thurgood Marshall School is owned and
operated as a museum by the Beloved Community Services
Corporation, which has completed a historic restoration for
adaptive re-use of the School.
(7) Congress authorized the National Park Service to
prepare a special resource study of Public School 103 in 2019,
which the National Park Service transmitted to Congress in
2023. The National Park Service found that Public School 103
met its criteria for national significance and suitability for
addition to the National Park System.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to preserve, protect, and
interpret for the benefit of future generations the significant
historic contributions of Justice Thurgood Marshall by establishing the
elementary school he attended as a national historic site and providing
for the site's administration as an affiliated area of the National
Park System.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) National historic site.--The term ``National Historic
Site'' means the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic
Site established by section 4 of this Act.
(2) School.--The term ``School'' means the building located
at 1315 Division Street in Baltimore, Maryland, known as Public
School 103, which is owned and managed by the Beloved Community
Services Corporation, a nonprofit organization established in
Baltimore, Maryland.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE JUSTICE THURGOOD MARSHALL NATIONAL
HISTORIC SITE.
(a) In General.--There is established as an affiliated area of the
National Park System the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic
Site.
(b) Description.--The National Historic Site shall consist of the
School, as generally depicted on the map entitled ``Justice Thurgood
Marshall School National Historic Site Proposed Boundary'', numbered
962/194939, and dated September 2024.
(c) Ownership.--The School shall continue to be owned, operated,
and managed by the Beloved Community Services Corporation.
(d) Administration.--The National Historic Site shall be managed in
a manner consistent with--
(1) this Act; and
(2) laws generally applicable to units of the National Park
System.
(e) Management Entity.--The Beloved Community Services Corporation
shall be the management entity for the National Historic Site.
(f) Agreements.--The Secretary--
(1) may provide technical assistance and enter into
cooperative agreements with the management entity for the
purpose of providing financial assistance for the marketing,
marking, interpretation, and preservation of the National
Historic Site; and
(2) shall enter into an agreement with the management
entity that delineates the roles and responsibilities for the
management of the area consistent with the policies and
standards that apply to units of the National Park System.
(g) Limited Role of the Secretary.--Nothing in this Act authorizes
the Secretary to acquire the property at 1315 Division Street or to
assume overall financial responsibility for the operation, maintenance,
or management of the National Historic Site.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary
to carry out this Act.
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