I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1077 

To posthumously award a congressional gold medal to Constance Baker Motley, in recognition of her enduring contributions and service to the 

United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 17, 2023 

Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. CLARKE of New 

York, and Mr. TORRES of New York) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To posthumously award a congressional gold medal to Constance Baker Motley, in recognition of her enduring contributions and service to the United States. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Congressional Tribute 

5 to Constance Baker Motley Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Constance Baker Motley was born in 1921, 

2 in New Haven, Connecticut, the daughter of immi3 grants from the Caribbean island of Nevis. 

4 (2) In 1943, Constance Baker Motley grad5 uated from New York University with a Bachelor of 

6 Arts degree in economics. 

7 (3) Upon receiving a law degree from Columbia 

8 University in 1946, Constance Baker Motley became 

9 a staff attorney at the National Association for the 

10 Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense and 

11 Educational Fund, Inc. (in this Act referred to as 

12 the ‘‘LDF’’), and fought tirelessly for 2 decades 

13 alongside Thurgood Marshall and other leading civil 

14 rights lawyers to dismantle segregation throughout 

15 the United States. 

16 (4) Constance Baker Motley was the only fe17 male attorney on the LDF legal team that won the 

18 landmark desegregation case, Brown v. Board of 

19 Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). 

20 (5) Constance Baker Motley argued 10 major 

21 civil rights cases before the Supreme Court, winning 

22 all but one, including the case brought on behalf of 

23 James Meredith challenging the refusal of the Uni24 versity of Mississippi to admit him. 


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1 (6) Constance Baker Motley’s only loss before 

2 the United States Supreme Court was in Swain v. 

3 Alabama, 380 U.S. 202 (1965), a case in which the 

4 Supreme Court refused to proscribe race-based pe5 remptory challenges in cases involving African-Amer6 ican defendants, and which was later reversed in 

7 Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), on 

8 grounds that were largely asserted by Constance 

9 Baker Motley in the Swain case. 

10 (7) In 1964, Constance Baker Motley became 

11 the first African-American woman elected to the 

12 New York State Senate. 

13 (8) In 1965, Constance Baker Motley became 

14 the first African-American woman, and the first 

15 woman, to serve as president of the Borough of 

16 Manhattan. 

17 (9) Constance Baker Motley, in her capacity as 

18 an elected public official in New York, continued to 

19 fight for civil rights, dedicating herself to the revital20 ization of the inner city and improvement of urban 

21 public schools and housing. 

22 (10) In 1966, Constance Baker Motley was ap23 pointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as a judge 

24 on the United States District Court for the Southern 

25 District of New York. 


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1 (11) The appointment of Constance Baker Mot2 ley made her the first African-American woman, and 

3 only the fifth woman, appointed and confirmed for 

4 a Federal judgeship. 

5 (12) In 1982, Constance Baker Motley was ele6 vated to Chief Judge of the United States District 

7 Court for the Southern District of New York, the 

8 largest Federal trial court in the United States. 

9 (13) Constance Baker Motley assumed senior 

10 status in 1986, and continued serving on the United 

11 States District Court for the Southern District of 

12 New York with distinction for nearly 2 decades. 

13 (14) Constance Baker Motley passed away on 

14 September 28, 2005, and is survived by her son, 

15 Joel W. Motley III, 3 grandchildren, and nieces and 

16 nephews in Connecticut and in other States. 

17 (15) September 14, 2021, was the 100th anni18 versary of the birth of Constance Baker Motley. 

19 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

20 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The President 

21 pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House 

22 of Representatives are authorized to make appropriate ar23 rangements for the posthumous award, on behalf of Con24 gress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:34 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1077.IH H1077

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1 ration of Constance Baker Motley, in recognition of her 

2 enduring contributions and service to the United States. 

3 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of the 

5 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of 

6 the Treasury (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec7 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em8 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by 

9 the Secretary. 

10 (2) IMAGE.—The emblems, devices, and inscrip11 tions determined by the Secretary shall include an 

12 image of Constance Baker Motley and an inscription 

13 of the name of Constance Baker Motley. 

14 (c) PRESENTATION.—With respect to the award de15 scribed under subsection (a), the award shall be presented 

16 to Constance Baker Motley’s son, Joel Motley III, and her 

17 niece, Constance Royster. 

18 (d) DISPOSITION OF MEDAL.—Following the award 

19 of the gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal 

20 shall be given to Joel Motley III. 

21 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

22 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

23 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 

24 sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, mate25 rials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 


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1 SEC. 5. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

2 (a) NATIONAL MEDAL.—All medals struck under this 

3 Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 

4 31, United States Code. 

5 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

6 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

7 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

8 items. 

9 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

10 SALE. 

11 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 

12 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

13 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec14 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

15 this Act. 

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

17 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

18 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

19 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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