108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1821

AN ACT

To award a congressional gold medal to Dr. Dorothy Height in recognition of her many contributions to the Nation.

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1821

AN ACT

To award a congressional gold medal to Dr. Dorothy Height

in recognition of her many contributions to the Nation.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

4 The Congress makes the following findings:
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1 (1) Dr. Dorothy Irene Height was born March

2 24, 1912, to James Edward Height and Fannie

3 (Borroughs) Height in Richmond, Virginia and

4 raised in Rankin, Pennsylvania.

5 (2) Dr. Height is recognized as one of the pre6 eminent social and civil rights activists of her time,

7 particularly in the struggle for equality, social jus8 tice, and human rights for all peoples.

9 (3) Beginning as a civil rights advocate in the

10 1930s, she soon gained prominence through her tire11 less efforts to promote interracial schooling, to reg12 ister and educate voters, and to increase the visi13 bility and status of women in our society.

14 (4) She has labored to provide hope for inner15 city children and their families, and she can claim

16 responsibility for many of the advances made by

17 women and African-Americans over the course of

18 this century.

19 (5) Her public career spans over 65 years.

20 (6) Dr. Height was a valued consultant on

21 human and civil rights issues to First Lady Eleanor

22 Roosevelt and she encouraged President Eisenhower

23 to desegregate the Nation’s schools and President

24 Johnson to appoint African-American women to sub25 Cabinet posts.
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1 (7) Dr. Height has been President of the Na2 tional Council of Negro Women (NCNW) since

3 1957, a position to which she was appointed upon

4 the retirement of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, one of

5 the most influential African-American women in

6 United States history.

7 (8) The National Council of Negro Women is

8 currently the umbrella organization for 250 local

9 groups and 38 national groups engaged in economic

10 development and women’s issues.

11 (9) Under Dr. Height’s leadership, the National

12 Council of Negro Women implemented a number of

13 new and innovative programs and initiatives, includ14 ing the following:

15 (A) Operation Woman Power, a project to

16 expand business ownership by women and to

17 provide funds for vocational training.

18 (B) Leadership training for African-Amer19 ican women in the rural South.

20 (C) The Black Family Reunion, a nation21 wide annual gathering to encourage, renew and

22 celebrate the concept of not only the Black fam23 ily but all families.
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1 (D) The Women’s Center for Education

2 and Career Advancement to empower minority

3 women in nontraditional careers.

4 (E) The Bethune Museum and Archives, a

5 museum devoted to African-American women’s

6 history.

7 (10) Dr. Height has been at the forefront of

8 AIDS education, both nationally and internationally;

9 under her direction, the National Council of Negro

10 Women established offices in West Africa and South

11 Africa and worked to improve the conditions of

12 women in the developing world.

13 (11) Dr. Height has been central in the success

14 of 2 other influential women’s organizations, as fol15 lows:

16 (A) As president and executive board mem17 ber of Delta Sigma Theta, Dr. Height left the

18 sorority more efficient and globally focused with

19 a centralized headquarters.

20 (B) Her work with the Young Women’s

21 Christian Association (YWCA) led to its inte22 gration and more active participation in the

23 civil rights movement.

24 (12) As a member of the ‘‘Big Six’’ civil rights

25 leaders with Whitney Young, A. Phillip Randolph,
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1 Martin Luther King, Jr., James Farmer, and Roy

2 Wilkins, Dr. Height was the only female at the table

3 when the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and oth4 ers made plans for the civil rights movement.

5 (13) Dr. Height is the recipient of many

6 awards and accolades for her efforts on behalf of

7 women’s rights, including the following:

8 (A) The Spingarn Award, the NAACP’s

9 highest honor for civil rights contributions.

10 (B) The Presidential Medal of Freedom

11 awarded by President Clinton.

12 (C) The John F. Kennedy Memorial

13 Award from the National Council of Jewish

14 Women.

15 (D) The Ministerial Interfaith Association

16 Award for her contributions to interfaith, inter17 racial, and ecumenical movements for over 30

18 years.

19 (E) The Lovejoy Award, the highest rec20 ognition by the Grand Lodge of the Benevolent

21 and Protective Order of Elks of the World for

22 outstanding contributions to human relations.

23 (F) The Ladies Home Journal Woman of

24 the Year Award in recognition for her work for

25 human rights.
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1 (G) The William L. Dawson Award pre2 sented by the Congressional Black Caucus for

3 decades of public service to people of color and

4 particularly women.

5 (H) The Citizens Medal Award for distin6 guished service presented by President Reagan.

7 (I) The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Free8 dom Medal awarded by the Franklin and Elea9 nor Roosevelt Institute.

10 (14) Dr. Dorothy Height has established a last11 ing legacy of public service that has been an invalu12 able contribution to the progress of this Nation.

13 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

14 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of

15 the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tem16 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements

17 for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, to Dr.

18 Dorothy Irene Height a gold medal of appropriate design

19 in recognition of her many contributions to the Nation.

20 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purpose of the

21 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary

22 of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the

23 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em24 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the

25 Secretary.
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1 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

2 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre3 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in

4 bronze of the gold medals struck under section 2 at a price

5 sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor,

6 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.

7 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.

8 The medals struck under this Act are national medals

9 for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

10 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; PROCEEDS

11 OF SALE.

12 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

13 hereby authorized to be charged against the United States

14 Mint Public Enterprise Fund an amount not to exceed

15 $30,000 to pay for the cost of the medal authorized under

16 section 2.

17 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the

18 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be

19 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise

20 Fund.

Passed the House of Representatives October 15,

2003.

Attest:

Clerk.