Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Colonel Charles Young Home Study Act”.
Colonel Charles Young Home Study Act
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating the Colonel Charles Young Home in Xenia, Ohio, as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings
Congress finds that—
Colonel Charles Young was—
a distinguished African-American officer in the United States Army;
the third African-American to graduate from West Point;
a commander of troops in combat in—
the Spanish-American War; and
the Mexican expedition against Pancho Villa;
1 of the first military attachés in the United States; and
a pioneer of techniques in military intelligence;
the experience of Colonel Young in the Army between 1884 and 1922 illustrates the changing nature of race relations in the United States during a period spanning from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of the Civil Rights movement;
Colonel Young was a friend and associate of other distinguished African-Americans of the period, including poet Paul Laurence Dunbar from nearby Dayton, Ohio;
as the commander of an Army unit assigned to protect and develop Sequoia National Park and General Grant National Park in the State of California, Colonel Young is recognized as the first African-American to be the Superintendent of a National Park; and
the home of Colonel Young located near Xenia, Ohio, is—
a National Historic Landmark; and
closely associated with—
Wilberforce University, a historically Black university at which Colonel Young served as Professor of Military Science; and
Central State University, which is—
a historically Black university; and
the location of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center.
Sec. 3 Special resource study
Study— The Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this Act as the “Secretary”), in consultation with the Secretary of the Army, shall conduct a special resource study of the Colonel Charles Young Home, a National Historic Landmark in Xenia, Ohio (referred to in this Act as the “Home”).
Contents— In conducting the study under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—
evaluate any architectural and archeological resources of the Home;
determine the suitability and feasibility of designating the Home as a unit of the National Park System;
consider other alternatives for preservation, protection, and interpretation of the Home by Federal, State, or local governmental entities or private and nonprofit organizations, including the use of shared management agreements with the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park or specific units of that Park, such as the Paul Laurence Dunbar Home;
consult with the Ohio Historical Society, Central State University, Wilberforce University, and other interested Federal, State, or local governmental entities, private and nonprofit organizations, or individuals; and
identify cost estimates for any Federal acquisition, development, interpretation, operation, and maintenance associated with the alternatives considered under the study.
Applicable law— The study required under subsection (a) shall be conducted in accordance with section 8 of Public Law 91–383 (16 U.S.C. 1a–5).
Report— Not later than 3 years after the date on which funds are first made available for the study under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report that contains—
the results of the study under subsection (a); and
any conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary.