What This Bill Does
This bill gives a Congressional Gold Medal (a special medal awarded by Congress) to Constance Baker Motley after her death to honor her work fighting for civil rights and her service to the United States. The bill asks the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate (the second-ranking senator) to arrange for this medal to be presented to her family.
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Who It Affects
- Constance Baker Motley's son Joel Motley III and her niece Constance Royster (who receive the medal)
- The Secretary of the Treasury (who creates and designs the medal)
- The United States Mint (which makes the medals)
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Key Provisions
- The Speaker of the House and President pro tempore of the Senate will make arrangements to present the gold medal to Constance Baker Motley's family after her death (Sec. 3(a))
- The Secretary of the Treasury will design and create a gold medal with Constance Baker Motley's image and name on it (Sec. 3(b))
- The gold medal will be presented to Joel Motley III and Constance Royster, and then given to Joel Motley III after the presentation (Sec. 3(c) and 3(d))
- The Secretary of the Treasury may create and sell bronze copies of the gold medal to cover the costs of making the medals (Sec. 4)
- Money needed to pay for creating the medals comes from the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund, and money from selling bronze copies goes back into that same fund (Sec. 6)
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, a gold medal will be created and presented to honor Constance Baker Motley's civil rights work and public service. Her family will receive the official gold medal, and copies in bronze will be available for purchase.
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Important Definitions
- **LDF** means the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (an organization that fights for civil rights)
- **Numismatic items** means objects related to coins and medals that are collected for their value
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 514
To award posthumously the Congressional Gold Medal to Constance Baker
Motley, in recognition of her enduring contributions and service to the
United States.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 16, 2023
Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. KENNEDY,
Mr. MURPHY, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. KING, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. CASEY,
Ms. WARREN, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. PADILLA,
Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. REED, Mr.
SCHATZ, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. COONS, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BENNET, Ms.
HIRONO, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. OSSOFF) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Hous-
ing, and Urban Affairs
A BILL
To award posthumously the Congressional Gold Medal to
Constance Baker Motley, in recognition of her enduring
contributions and service to the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Congressional Tribute
4
to Constance Baker Motley Act of 2023’’.
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
1
Congress finds the following:
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(1) Constance Baker Motley was born in 1921,
3
in New Haven, Connecticut, the daughter of immi-
4
grants from the Caribbean island of Nevis.
5
(2) In 1943, Constance Baker Motley grad-
6
uated from New York University with a Bachelor of
7
Arts degree in economics.
8
(3) Upon receiving a law degree from Columbia
9
University in 1946, Constance Baker Motley became
10
a staff attorney at the National Association for the
11
Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense and
12
Educational Fund, Inc. (referred to in this Act as
13
the ‘‘LDF’’), and fought tirelessly for 2 decades
14
alongside Thurgood Marshall and other leading civil
15
rights lawyers to dismantle segregation throughout
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the United States.
17
(4) Constance Baker Motley was the only fe-
18
male attorney on the LDF legal team that won the
19
landmark desegregation case, Brown v. Board of
20
Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).
21
(5) Constance Baker Motley argued 10 major
22
civil rights cases before the Supreme Court of the
23
United States, winning all but 1, including the case
24
brought on behalf of James Meredith challenging the
25
refusal of the University of Mississippi to admit him.
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(6) Constance Baker Motley’s only loss before
1
the Supreme Court of the United States in Swain v.
2
Alabama, 380 U.S. 202 (1965), a case in which the
3
Supreme Court refused to proscribe race-based pe-
4
remptory challenges in cases involving African-Amer-
5
ican defendants, and which was later reversed in
6
Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), on
7
grounds that were largely asserted by Constance
8
Baker Motley in the Swain case.
9
(7) In 1964, Constance Baker Motley became
10
the first African-American woman elected to the
11
New York State Senate.
12
(8) In 1965, Constance Baker Motley became
13
the first African-American woman, and the first
14
woman, to serve as president of the Borough of
15
Manhattan.
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(9) Constance Baker Motley, in her capacity as
17
an elected public official in New York, continued to
18
fight for civil rights, dedicating herself to the revital-
19
ization of the inner city and improvement of urban
20
public schools and housing.
21
(10) In 1966, Constance Baker Motley was ap-
22
pointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as a judge
23
on the United States District Court for the Southern
24
District of New York.
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•S 514 IS
(11) The appointment of Constance Baker Mot-
1
ley made her the first African-American woman, and
2
only the fifth woman, appointed and confirmed for
3
a Federal judgeship.
4
(12) In 1982, Constance Baker Motley was ele-
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vated to Chief Judge of the United States District
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Court for the Southern District of New York, the
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largest Federal trial court in the United States.
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(13) Constance Baker Motley assumed senior
9
status in 1986, and continued serving on the United
10
States District Court for the Southern District of
11
New York with distinction for nearly 2 decades.
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(14) Constance Baker Motley passed away on
13
September 28, 2005, and is survived by her son,
14
Joel W. Motley III, 3 grandchildren, and nieces and
15
nephews in Connecticut and in other States.
16
(15) September 14, 2021, was the 100th anni-
17
versary of the birth of Constance Baker Motley.
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SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
19
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of
20
the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-
21
pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements
22
for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress,
23
of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration
24
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•S 514 IS
of Constance Baker Motley, in recognition of her enduring
1
contributions and service to the United States.
2
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the
3
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary
4
of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec-
5
retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems,
6
devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec-
7
retary. The design shall bear an image of, and an inscrip-
8
tion of the name of, ‘‘Constance Baker Motley’’.
9
(c) PRESENTATION.—With respect to the presen-
10
tation referred to in subsection (a), the gold medal shall
11
be presented to Constance Baker Motley’s son, Joel Mot-
12
ley III, and her niece, Constance Royster.
13
(d) DISPOSITION OF MEDAL.—Following the presen-
14
tation referred to in subsection (a), the gold medal shall
15
be given to Joel Motley III.
16
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
17
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in
18
bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price
19
sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor,
20
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.
21
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
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(a) NATIONAL MEDAL.—Medals struck under this
23
Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title
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31, United States Code.
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(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section
1
5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck
2
under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.
3
SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF
4
SALE.
5
(a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is
6
authorized to be charged against the United States Mint
7
Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec-
8
essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under
9
this Act.
10
(b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the
11
sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section
12
4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public
13
Enterprise Fund.
14
Æ
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