On May 12, 2009, the U.S. Congress authorized a national initiative by passing the Civil Rights History Project Act of 2009. This law directs the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture to conduct a survey of existing oral history collections with reference to the Civil Rights Movement. This site brings together a range of interviews conducted since then and participants include lawyers, judges, doctors, farmers, journalists, professors, and others. The materials are divided into two areas: Collections Items and Articles and Essays. In the Articles and Essays area, visitors can look over two thoughtful essays, including "The March on Washington," which offers some thoughtful historical perspective on the events of August 28, 1963. The Collections Items area includes over 50 interviews with leaders including Courtland Cox, Joseph Echols Lowery, and Pete Seeger.