II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 514 

To award posthumously the Congressional Gold Medal to Constance Baker 

Motley, in recognition of her enduring contributions and service to the 

United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2023 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. KENNEDY, 

Mr. MURPHY, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. KING, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. CASEY, 

Ms. WARREN, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. PADILLA, 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. REED, Mr. 

SCHATZ, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. COONS, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BENNET, Ms. 

HIRONO, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. OSSOFF) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To award posthumously the 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’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 514 IS

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

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

4 in New Haven, Connecticut, the daughter of immi5 grants from the Caribbean island of Nevis. 

6 (2) In 1943, Constance Baker Motley grad7 uated from New York University with a Bachelor of 

8 Arts degree in economics. 

9 (3) Upon receiving a law degree from Columbia 

10 University in 1946, Constance Baker Motley became 

11 a staff attorney at the National Association for the 

12 Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense and 

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

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

15 alongside Thurgood Marshall and other leading civil 

16 rights lawyers to dismantle segregation throughout 

17 the United States. 

18 (4) Constance Baker Motley was the only fe19 male attorney on the LDF legal team that won the 

20 landmark desegregation case, Brown v. Board of 

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

22 (5) Constance Baker Motley argued 10 major 

23 civil rights cases before the Supreme Court of the 

24 United States, winning all but 1, including the case 

25 brought on behalf of James Meredith challenging the 

26 refusal of the University of Mississippi to admit him. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 514 IS

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

2 the Supreme Court of the United States 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. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 514 IS

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 Speaker of 

21 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem22 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

23 for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, 

24 of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 514 IS

1 of Constance Baker Motley, in recognition of her enduring 

2 contributions and service to the United States. 

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

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

5 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec6 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

7 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec8 retary. The design shall bear an image of, and an inscrip9 tion of the name of, ‘‘Constance Baker Motley’’. 

10 (c) PRESENTATION.—With respect to the presen11 tation referred to in subsection (a), the gold medal shall 

12 be presented to Constance Baker Motley’s son, Joel Mot13 ley III, and her niece, Constance Royster. 

14 (d) DISPOSITION OF MEDAL.—Following the presen15 tation referred to in subsection (a), the gold medal shall 

16 be given to Joel Motley III. 

17 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

18 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

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

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

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

22 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

23 (a) NATIONAL MEDAL.—Medals struck under this 

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

25 31, United States Code. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 514 IS

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

2 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

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

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

5 SALE. 

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

7 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

8 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec9 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

10 this Act. 

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

12 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

13 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

14 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS