I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3287

To award congressional gold medals posthumously on behalf of Reverend 

Joseph A. DeLaine, Harry and Eliza Briggs, and Levi Pearson in recognition of their contributions to the Nation as pioneers in the effort 

to desegregate public schools that led directly to the landmark desegregation case of Brown et al. v. the Board of Education of Topeka et 

al. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 10, 2003

Mr. CLYBURN (for himself, Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA ́, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. ANDREWS, 

Mr. BACA, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. BAIRD, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BALLANCE, Mr. 

BALLENGER, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. BASS, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. BELL, 

Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BERRY, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. 

BLUMENAUER, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. BOEHLERT, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. BOYD, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Ms. 

CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, Mr. BROWN

of Ohio, Mr. BURNS, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. BUYER, Mr. CAMP, 

Mrs. CAPITO, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CARDOZA, 

Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CASE, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. CHOCOLA, Mrs. 

CHRISTENSEN, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. COOPER, Mr. COSTELLO, 

Mr. COX, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. CULBERSON, Mr. 

CUMMINGS, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mr. DEFAZIO, 

Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. 

DEUTSCH, Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. MARIO DIAZBALART of Florida, Mr. DICKS, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. DOOLEY of California, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. DUNCAN, Ms. DUNN, Mr. EDWARDS, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. EMANUEL, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. 

ENGLISH, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. EVANS, Mr. 

FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. FARR, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. 

FORBES, Mr. FORD, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, 

Mr. FROST, Mr. GEPHARDT, Mr. GIBBONS, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. GORDON, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 

GUTIERREZ, Mr. GUTKNECHT, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, 

Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. HERGER, Mr. HILL, Mr. HINCHEY, 

Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. HOBSON, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. HOLT, 
2

•HR 3287 IH 

Mr. HONDA, Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. HOYER, Mr. 

HULSHOF, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. JENKINS, Mr. 

JOHN, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mr. KANJORSKI, Ms. KAPTUR, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. 

KILDEE, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. 

KLECZKA, Mr. KNOLLENBERG, Mr. KOLBE, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. 

LAHOOD, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LARSEN of 

Washington, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. LEE, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. 

LEWIS of California, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. 

LOFGREN, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. LUCAS of Kentucky, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. 

MAJETTE, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. MATHESON, Mr. MATSUI, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. MCCARTHY of 

Missouri, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCCRERY, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. MEEK of Florida, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Mr. MICA, Mr. MICHAUD, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. 

MILLER of North Carolina, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. MOLLOHAN, Mr. MOORE, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. MURTHA, Mrs. 

MYRICK, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, 

Mr. NETHERCUTT, Mr. NEY, Ms. NORTON, Mr. NUSSLE, Mr. OBERSTAR, 

Mr. OBEY, Mr. OLVER, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. OSBORNE, Mr. OWENS, Mr. 

PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. 

PENCE, Mr. PETRI, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. 

PRICE of North Carolina, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. 

RAMSTAD, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. REGULA, Mr. REYES, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. 

ROGERS of Kentucky, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. ROSS, Mr. ROTHMAN, Ms. 

ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. RUSH, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, 

Mr. SABO, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ

of California, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SANDLIN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. 

SCHIFF, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SERRANO, 

Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. SHADEGG, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SKELTON, 

Mr. SHIMKUS, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SNYDER, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. SPRATT, 

Mr. STARK, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. 

SWEENEY, Mr. TANNER, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. TAYLOR of 

North Carolina, Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi, Mr. TERRY, Mr. THOMAS, 

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. 

TIAHRT, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. TURNER of Texas, Mr. UDALL

of Colorado, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. 

VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. WALSH, Mr. WAMP, Ms. WATERS, Ms. 

WATSON, Mr. WATT, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. WEINER, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Mr. WELLER, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. WICKER, Mrs. WILSON of New 

Mexico, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. WOLF, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. 

WU, Mr. WYNN, Mr. YOUNG of Florida, and Mr. YOUNG of Alaska) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
3

•HR 3287 IH 

A BILL

To award congressional gold medals posthumously on behalf 

of Reverend Joseph A. DeLaine, Harry and Eliza Briggs, 

and Levi Pearson in recognition of their contributions 

to the Nation as pioneers in the effort to desegregate 

public schools that led directly to the landmark desegregation case of Brown et al. v. the Board of Education 

of Topeka et al.

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 finds as follows: 

5 (1) The Reverend Joseph Armstrong DeLaine, 

6 one of the true heroes of the civil rights struggle, led 

7 a crusade to break down barriers in education in 

8 South Carolina. 

9 (2) The efforts of Reverend DeLaine led to the 

10 desegregation of public schools in the United States, 

11 but forever scarred his own life. 

12 (3) In 1949, Joseph DeLaine, a minister and 

13 school principal, organized African-American parents 

14 in Summerton, South Carolina, to petition the school 

15 board for a bus for black students, who had to walk 

16 up to 10 miles through corn and cotton fields to at17 tend a segregated school, while the white children in 
4

•HR 3287 IH 

1 the school district rode to and from school in nice 

2 clean buses. 

3 (4) In 1950, these same parents, including 

4 Harry and Eliza Briggs, sued to end public school 

5 segregation in Briggs et al. v. Elliott et al., one of 

6 5 cases that collectively led to the landmark 1954 

7 Supreme Court decision of Brown et al. v. Board of 

8 Education of Topeka et al. 

9 (5) Because of his participation in the desegre10 gation movement, Reverend DeLaine was subjected 

11 to repeated acts of domestic terror in which—

12 (A) he, along with 2 sisters and a niece, 

13 lost their jobs; 

14 (B) he fought off an angry mob; 

15 (C) he received frequent death threats; and 

16 (D) his church and his home were burned 

17 to the ground. 

18 (6) In October 1955, after Reverend DeLaine 

19 relocated to Florence County in South Carolina, 

20 shots were fired at the DeLaine home, and because 

21 Reverend DeLaine fired back to mark the car, he 

22 was charged with assault and battery with intent to 

23 kill. 
5

•HR 3287 IH 

1 (7) The shooting incident drove him from South 

2 Carolina to Buffalo, New York, where he organized 

3 an African Methodist Episcopal Church. 

4 (8) Believing that he would not be treated fairly 

5 by the South Carolina judicial system if he returned 

6 to South Carolina, Reverend DeLaine told the Fed7 eral Bureau of Investigation, ‘‘I am not running 

8 from justice but injustice’’, and it was not until 

9 2000 (26 years after his death and 45 years after 

10 the incident) that Reverend DeLaine was cleared of 

11 all charges relating to the October 1955 incident. 

12 (9) Reverend DeLaine was a humble and fear13 less man who showed the Nation that all people, re14 gardless of the color of their skin, deserve a first15 rate education, a lesson from which the Nation has 

16 benefited immeasurably. 

17 (10) Reverend DeLaine deserves rightful rec18 ognition for the suffering that he and his family en19 dured to teach the Nation one of the great civil 

20 rights lessons of the last century. 

21 (11) Like the Reverend DeLaine and Harry 

22 and Eliza Briggs, Levi Pearson was an integral par23 ticipant in the struggle to equalize the educational 

24 experiences of white and black students in South 

25 Carolina. 
6

•HR 3287 IH 

1 (12) Levi Pearson, with the assistance of Rev2 erend Joseph DeLaine, filed a lawsuit against the 

3 Clarendon County School District to protest the in4 equitable treatment of black children. 

5 (13) As a result of his lawsuit, Levi Pearson 

6 also suffered from acts of domestic terror, such as 

7 the time gun shots were fired into his home, as well 

8 as economic consequences: local banks refused to 

9 provide him with credit to purchase farming mate10 rials and area farmers refused to lend him equip11 ment. 

12 (14) Although his case was ultimately dismissed 

13 on a technicality, Levi Pearson’s courage to stand 

14 up for equalized treatment and funding for black 

15 students served as the catalyst for further attempts 

16 to desegregate South Carolina schools, as he contin17 ued to fight against segregation practices and be18 came President of Clarendon County Chapter of the 

19 NAACP. 

20 (15) When Levi Pearson’s litigation efforts to 

21 obtain equalized treatment and funding for black 

22 students were stymied, Harry and Eliza Briggs, a 

23 service station attendant and a maid, continued to 

24 fight for not only equalized treatment of all children 

25 but desegregated schools as well. 
7

•HR 3287 IH 

1 (16) As with Reverend DeLaine and Levi Pear2 son, the family of Harry and Eliza Briggs suffered 

3 consequences for their efforts: Harry and Eliza both 

4 were fired from their jobs and forced to move their 

5 family to Florida. 

6 (17) Although they and their family suffered 

7 tremendously, Harry and Eliza Briggs were also pio8 neers leading the effort to desegregate America’s 

9 public schools. 

10 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

11 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—In recognition of 

12 the contributions of Reverend Joseph A. DeLaine, Harry 

13 and Eliza Briggs, and Levi Pearson to the Nation as pio14 neers in the effort to desegregate public schools that led 

15 directly to the landmark desegregation case of Brown et 

16 al. v. the Board of Education of Topeka et al., the Speaker 

17 of the House of Representatives and the President Pro 

18 Tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrange19 ments for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of 

20 a gold medal of appropriate design, to Joseph De Laine, 

21 Jr., as next of kin of Reverend Joseph A. DeLaine, and 

22 to the next of kin or other personal representative of 

23 Harry and Eliza Briggs and of Levi Pearson. 

24 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 

25 awards referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 
8

•HR 3287 IH 

1 Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec2 retary’’) shall strike 3 gold medals with suitable emblems, 

3 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec4 retary. 

5 SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

6 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

7 bronze of the gold medals struck pursuant to section 2, 

8 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, 

9 and at a price sufficient to cover the costs thereof, includ10 ing labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead 

11 expenses, and the cost of the gold medals. 

12 SEC. 4. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS. 

13 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu14 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

15 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

16 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

17 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

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

19 SEC. 5. FUNDING. 

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

21 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

22 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec23 essary to pay for the cost of the medals authorized by this 

24 Act. 
9

•HR 3287 IH 

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

2 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be 

3 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

4 Fund.

Æ