I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2040 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration 

of the semicentennial of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 25, 2007 

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia (for himself and Ms. PRYCE of Ohio) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins 

in commemoration of the semicentennial of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

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 ‘‘Civil Rights Act of 

5 1964 Commemorative Coin Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress hereby finds as follows: 

8 (1) On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks’ brave 

9 act of defiance, refusing to give up her seat to a 

10 white person on a segregated bus in Montgomery, 

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1 Alabama, galvanized the modern civil rights move2 ment and led to the desegregation of the South. 

3 (2) On February 1, 1960, 4 college students, 

4 Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, David Richmond, 

5 and Ezell Blair, Jr., asked to be served at a lunch 

6 counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and lunch 

7 counter sit-ins began to occur throughout the South 

8 to challenge segregation in places of public accom9 modation. 

10 (3) On May 4, 1961, the Freedom Rides into 

11 the South began to test new court orders barring 

12 segregation in interstate transportation, and riders 

13 were jailed and beaten by mobs in several places, in14 cluding Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama. 

15 (4) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was the lead16 ing civil rights advocate of the time, spearheading 

17 the civil rights movement in the United States dur18 ing the 1950s and 1960s with the goal of nonviolent 

19 social change and full civil rights for African Ameri20 cans. 

21 (5) On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther 

22 King, Jr., led over 250,000 civil rights supporters in 

23 the March on Washington and delivered his famous 

24 ‘‘I Have A Dream’’ speech to raise awareness and 

25 support for civil rights legislation. 

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1 (6) Mrs. Coretta Scott King, a leading partici2 pant in the American civil rights movement, was 

3 side-by-side with her husband, Dr. Martin Luther 

4 King, Jr., during many civil rights marches, orga5 nized Freedom Concerts to draw attention to the 

6 Movement, and worked in her own right to create an 

7 America in which all people have equal rights. 

8 (7) The mass movement sparked by Rosa Parks 

9 and led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., among oth10 ers, called upon the Congress and Presidents John 

11 F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson to pass civil 

12 rights legislation which culminated in the enactment 

13 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

14 (8) The Civil Rights Act of 1964 greatly ex15 panded civil rights protections, outlawing racial dis16 crimination and segregation in public places and 

17 places of public accommodation, in federally funded 

18 programs, and employment and encouraging deseg19 regation in public schools, and has served as a model 

20 for subsequent anti-discrimination laws. 

21 (9) We are an eminently better Nation because 

22 of Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and all 

23 those men and women who have confronted, and 

24 continue to confront, injustice and inequality wher25 ever they see it. 

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1 (10) Equality in education was one of the cor2 nerstones of the civil rights movement. 

3 (11) On September 10, 1961, Dr. Martin Lu4 ther King, Jr., wrote that African American ‘‘stu5 dents are coming to understand that education and 

6 learning have become tools for shaping the future 

7 and not devices of privilege for an exclusive few’’. 

8 (12) Over its long and distinguished history, 

9 the United Negro College Fund has provided schol10 arships and operating funds to its member colleges 

11 that have enabled more than 300,000 young African 

12 Americans to earn college degrees and become suc13 cessful members of society. 

14 (13) Those graduates include Dr. Martin Lu15 ther King, Jr., as well as leaders in the fields of edu16 cation, science, medicine, law, entertainment, lit17 erature, the military, and politics who have made 

18 major contributions to the civil rights movement and 

19 the creation of a more equitable society. 

20 (14) Congress has an obligation to lead Amer21 ica’s continued struggle to fight discrimination and 

22 ensure equal rights for all. 

23 (15) The year 2014 will mark the 

24 semicentennial of the passage of the Civil Rights Act 

25 of 1964. 

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1 SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) DENOMINATIONS.—The Secretary of the Treas3 ury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 

4 shall mint and issue not more than 350,000 $1 coins each 

5 of which shall— 

6 (1) weigh 26.73 grams; 

7 (2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 

8 (3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent 

9 copper. 

10 (b) LEGAL TENDER.—The coins minted under this 

11 Act shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of 

12 title 31, United States Code. 

13 (c) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

14 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted 

15 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

16 SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS. 

17 (a) DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.—The design of the 

18 coins minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the 

19 enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its con20 tribution to civil rights in America. 

21 (b) DESIGNATION AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On each coin 

22 minted under this Act there shall be— 

23 (1) a designation of the value of the coin; 

24 (2) an inscription of the year ‘‘2014’’; and 

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1 (3) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, ‘‘In 

2 God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of America’’, and 

3 ‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 

4 (c) SELECTION.—The design for the coins minted 

5 under this Act shall be— 

6 (1) selected by the Secretary after consultation 

7 with the Commission of Fine Arts; and 

8 (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 

9 Committee established under section 5135 of title 

10 31, United States Code. 

11 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 

12 (a) QUALITY OF COINS.—Coins minted under this 

13 Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 

14 (b) COMMENCEMENT OF ISSUANCE.—The Secretary 

15 may issue coins minted under this Act beginning January 

16 1, 2014, except that the Secretary may initiate sales of 

17 such coins, without issuance, before such date. 

18 (c) TERMINATION OF MINTING AUTHORITY.—No 

19 coins shall be minted under this Act after December 31, 

20 2014. 

21 SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 

22 (a) SALE PRICE.—Notwithstanding any other provi23 sion of law, the coins issued under this Act shall be sold 

24 by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of the face 

25 value of the coins, the surcharge required under section 

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1 7(a) for the coins, and the cost of designing and issuing 

2 such coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of machin3 ery, overhead expenses, and marketing). 

4 (b) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make bulk 

5 sales of the coins issued under this Act at a reasonable 

6 discount. 

7 (c) PREPAID ORDERS AT A DISCOUNT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall accept 

9 prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 

10 before the issuance of such coins. 

11 (2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre12 paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea13 sonable discount. 

14 SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 

15 (a) SURCHARGE REQUIRED.—All sales shall include 

16 a surcharge of $10 per coin. 

17 (b) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f) of 

18 title 31, United States Code, all surcharges which are re19 ceived by the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under 

20 this Act shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the 

21 United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to carry out the pur22 poses of the Fund, including providing scholarships and 

23 internships for minority students and operating funds and 

24 technology enhancement services for 39 member histori25 cally black colleges and universities. 

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1 (c) AUDITS.—The United Negro College Fund shall 

2 be subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) 

3 of title 31, United States Code, with regard to the 

4 amounts received by the Fund under subsection (b). 

Æ 

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