II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4528 

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Marshall Walter 

‘‘Major’’ Taylor in recognition of his significance to the nation as an 

athlete, trailblazer, role model, and equal rights advocate. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 12, 2024 

Mr. BRAUN (for himself and Mr. WARNOCK) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Marshall Walter ‘‘Major’’ Taylor in recognition of his significance to the nation as an athlete, trailblazer, role model, 

and equal rights advocate. 

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 ‘‘Marshall Walter 

5 ‘Major’ Taylor Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Marshall Walter ‘‘Major’’ Taylor was born 

2 in Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 26, 1878, to 

3 Black parents who likely had been enslaved in Ken4 tucky, and died impoverished on June 21, 1932, in 

5 a hospital charity ward in Chicago, Illinois. 

6 (2) As a child, Taylor spent considerable time 

7 at the home of a wealthy White family in Indianap8 olis who employed his father as a coachman, treated 

9 the Black youngster as an equal to their son, Daniel 

10 Southard, and gave Taylor his first bicycle. 

11 (3) Taylor acquired the nickname ‘‘Major’’ in 

12 his youth when he performed bicycle tricks outside 

13 his workplace, the Hay & Willits bike shop in Indi14 anapolis, while wearing a military-style jacket, and 

15 he won his first bike race in 1890 at age 11. 

16 (4) Taylor moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, 

17 with his employer, mentor, and racing manager, 

18 Louis D. ‘‘Birdie’’ Munger, in 1895, and became 

19 known in his sport not only for his lightning sprints 

20 but also for his good sportsmanship, disciplined 

21 physical training, and devotion to his religion. 

22 (5) Taylor received a professional racing license 

23 from the League of American Wheelmen at age 18 

24 despite the League’s 1894 ‘‘whites only’’ rule for 

25 amateur membership and made his professional 


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1 debut in December 1896 in a 6-day race at Madison 

2 Square Garden in New York, New York, defeating 

3 national champion Eddie Bald in a half-mile exhi4 bition race on the eve of the 6-day endurance contest 

5 and placing eighth in the 6-day track cycling com6 petition. 

7 (6) In 1897, Taylor earned a spot alongside 4 

8 White men on one of the first racially integrated 

9 professional sports teams in the United States, a 5- 

10 man squad that won a Boston v. Philadelphia pur11 suit race held in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

12 (7) Taylor set numerous world speed records 

13 and held 7 world records at the end of 1898 for var14 ious distances, including the coveted 1 mile, and he 

15 further lowered the 1-mile world record to 1 minute, 

16 19 seconds in 1899. 

17 (8) Taylor overcame racial prejudice throughout 

18 his career, showing remarkable dignity in the face of 

19 closed doors and open hostility, including race-based 

20 denial of meals and lodging, racist cartoons and 

21 caricatures, bureaucratic maneuvers that threatened 

22 his racing eligibility, race-based exclusion from cer23 tain tracks and competitions on the national circuit, 

24 plots and tactics by White opponents to box him in 

25 on the track, cause him to crash, or prevent him 


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1 from competing in the first place, a post-race chok2 ing by a competitor on a racetrack in Taunton, Mas3 sachusetts, that left Taylor unconscious, objections 

4 by White neighbors to his purchase of a house in 

5 Worcester, and a death threat signed ‘‘White Rid6 ers’’ that was delivered in Savannah, Georgia. 

7 (9) Taylor was one of the first Black athletes 

8 to secure corporate sponsorship, representing bicycle 

9 brands such as Iver Johnson, Sager, Stearns, and 

10 Orient, and he became one of the wealthiest Black 

11 men in the United States and a substantial bene12 factor to his church in Worcester. 

13 (10) Taylor pioneered the use of an innovative 

14 adjustable handlebar stem, using the extension to 

15 improve his aerodynamic position, and to this day 

16 this type of outrigger is called a Major Taylor stem. 

17 (11) Taylor won the world 1-mile sprint cham18 pionship in Montreal on August 10, 1899, becoming 

19 the second Black athlete to win a world title in any 

20 sport, and won the United States championship later 

21 that year. 

22 (12) As a devout Christian, Taylor refused for 

23 years to race on Sundays, and accordingly he turned 

24 down lucrative offers to race in Europe, until, by vir25 tue of his international superstardom, he could negoVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:28 Aug 16, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4528.IS S4528

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1 tiate a ‘‘no Sundays’’ provision in a European racing 

2 contract for 1901. 

3 (13) Finding refuge in France, where he was 

4 still often the only Black racer on the track, Taylor 

5 defeated every European champion during the 

6 course of 6 tours of Europe from 1901 to 1909 and 

7 also had numerous racing successes in Australia and 

8 New Zealand. 

9 (14) After retiring from racing in 1910 and 

10 finding little success in the business world, Taylor 

11 wrote his 1928 autobiography, ‘‘The Fastest Bicycle 

12 Rider in the World’’, with an appeal for ‘‘simple jus13 tice, equal rights, and a square deal’’ for African 

14 Americans in sports and ‘‘every . . . human endeav15 or’’, as well as advice for youth on good sportsman16 ship and clean living. 

17 (15) Drawing on exemplary determination and 

18 perseverance, Taylor demonstrated not only domi19 nant athletic prowess but also tremendous strength 

20 of character as he broke racial barriers, reached the 

21 pinnacle of international sport, and served as a role 

22 model for generations to come. 

23 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

24 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

25 the House of Representatives and the President pro temVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:28 Aug 16, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4528.IS S4528

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1 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

2 for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of the Con3 gress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemo4 ration of Marshall Walter ‘‘Major’’ Taylor, in recognition 

5 of his significance to the nation as an athlete, trailblazer, 

6 role model, and equal rights advocate. 

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

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

9 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec10 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

11 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec12 retary. The design shall bear an image of, and an inscrip13 tion of the name of Marshall Walter ‘‘Major’’ Taylor. 

14 (c) DISPOSITION OF MEDAL.—Following the presen15 tation of the gold medal under subsection (a), the gold 

16 medal shall be given to the great-granddaughter of Mar17 shall Walter ‘‘Major’’ Taylor, Karen Donovan. 

18 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

19 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

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

21 sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, mate22 rials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 


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1 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

2 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck under 

3 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

4 of title 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 SALES.—Amounts received from 

17 the sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under sec18 tion 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Pub19 lic Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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