Maya Angelou Congressional Gold Medal Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3032 To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Maya Angelou in recognition of her achievements and contributions to American culture and the civil rights movement. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 28, 2019 Mrs. BEATTY (for herself, Ms. BASS, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. NOR- TON, Ms. OMAR, Mr. RUSH, Mr. STIVERS, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. MEEKS, and Mr. LOWENTHAL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Maya Angelou in recognition of her achievements and contribu- tions to American culture and the civil rights movement. 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 ‘‘Maya Angelou Con- 4 gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3032.IH H3032 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3032 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 The Congress finds that: 2 (1) Dr. Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Ann 3 Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928, 4 and raised in Arkansas, was a prominent and cele- 5 brated author, poet, educator, producer, actress, 6 filmmaker, and civil rights activist. 7 (2) Dr. Maya Angelou published a myriad of 8 literary works enshrining in history her storied life 9 as an icon of the civil rights movement. 10 (3) Hailed for her talents as a performing artist 11 at an early age, Dr. Maya Angelou toured Europe 12 with a production of the Gershwin opera ‘‘Porgy 13 And Bess’’ in 1955 and released her first album in 14 1957. 15 (4) Committed to furthering the work of Dr. 16 Martin Luther King, Dr. Maya Angelou served as a 17 leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Con- 18 ference during the Civil Rights Movement. 19 (5) In 1969, Dr. Maya Angelou penned the 20 autobiography ‘‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’’, 21 which catapulted her to international acclaim for its 22 vivid and honest depiction of the experience of Black 23 women in the Jim Crow era. 24 (6) Dr. Maya Angelou wrote the screenplay and 25 composed the score for the 1972 film ‘‘Georgia, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3032.IH H3032 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3032 IH Georgia’’; her script was the first by an African- 1 American woman to be filmed. 2 (7) Dr. Maya Angelou was the first African- 3 American to serve as an Inaugural Poet, authoring 4 and reciting the poem ‘‘Pulse of Morning’’ in 1993. 5 (8) A trailblazer in literature and poetry, Dr. 6 Maya Angelou bravely explored the ways in which 7 socially marginalizing forces affected African-Amer- 8 ican women. 9 (9) Dr. Maya Angelou was honored with the 10 Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, the Lincoln 11 Medal in 2008, and the National Medal of Arts in 12 2000 for her exceptional contributions to American 13 culture as an author and poet. 14 (10) As a distinguished educator, Dr. Maya 15 Angelou received over 30 honorary degrees and 16 served as the Reynolds Professor of American Stud- 17 ies at Wake Forest University from 1982 to 2014. 18 (11) Dr. Maya Angelou passed away on May 19 28, 2014, in her North Carolina home at age 86, 20 leaving behind a legacy of literary achievement and 21 an indelible mark on the movement for civil rights. 22 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 23 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 24 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3032.IH H3032 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3032 IH pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 1 for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, 2 of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration 3 of Dr. Maya Angelou in recognition of her achievements 4 and contributions to American culture and the civil rights 5 movement. 6 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purpose of the 7 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 8 of the Treasury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 9 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em- 10 blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 11 Secretary. 12 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 14 gold medal in honor of Dr. Maya Angelou under 15 subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the 16 Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be available 17 for display as appropriate and made available for re- 18 search. 19 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 20 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution shall 21 make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 22 available for display, particularly at the National 23 Museum of African American History and Culture, 24 or for loan as appropriate so that it may be dis- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3032.IH H3032 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3032 IH played elsewhere, particularly at other appropriate 1 locations associated with the life of Dr. Maya 2 Angelou. 3 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 4 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 5 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 6 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 7 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 8 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 9 and the cost of the gold medal. 10 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 11 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck under 12 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 13 of title 31, United States Code. 14 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 15 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 16 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 17 items. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:23 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3032.IH H3032 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS