S. 531

One Hundred Sixth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,

the sixth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine

An Act

To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf of the Congress

to Rosa Parks in recognition of her contributions to the Nation.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds that—

(1) Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee,

Alabama, the first child of James and Leona (Edwards)

McCauley;

(2) Rosa Parks is honored as the ‘‘first lady of civil rights’’

and the ‘‘mother of the freedom movement’’, and her quiet

dignity ignited the most significant social movement in the

history of the United States;

(3) Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat on a bus

to a white man, and her stand for equal rights became legendary;

(4) news of Rosa Parks’ arrest resulted in 42,000 African

Americans boycotting Montgomery buses for 381 days, beginning on December 5, 1955, until the bus segregation laws

were changed on December 21, 1956;

(5) the United States Supreme Court ruled on November

13, 1956, that the Montgomery segregation law was unconstitutional, and on December 20, 1956, Montgomery officials were

ordered to desegregate buses;

(6) the civil rights movement led to the Civil Rights Act

of 1964, which broke down the barriers of legal discrimination

against African Americans and made equality before the law

a reality for all Americans;

(7) Rosa Parks is the recipient of many awards and

accolades for her efforts on behalf of racial harmony, including

the Springarn Award, the NAACP’s highest honor for civil

rights contributions, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the

Nation’s highest civilian honor, and the first International

Freedom Conductor Award from the National Underground

Railroad Freedom Center;

(8) Rosa Parks has dedicated her life to the cause of universal human rights and truly embodies the love of humanity

and freedom;

(9) Rosa Parks was the first woman to join the Montgomery

chapter of the NAACP, was an active volunteer for the Montgomery Voters League, and in 1987, cofounded the Rosa and

Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development;
S. 531—2

(10) Rosa Parks, by her quiet courage, symbolizes all that

is vital about nonviolent protest, as she endured threats of

death and persisted as an advocate for the simple, basic lessons

she taught the Nation and from which the Nation has benefited

immeasurably; and

(11) Rosa Parks, who has resided in the State of Michigan

since 1957, has become a living icon for freedom in America.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The President is authorized

to award to Rosa Parks, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal

of appropriate design honoring Rosa Parks in recognition of her

contributions to the Nation.

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

referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter

in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal

with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined

by the Secretary.

SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the

gold medal struck pursuant to section 2, under such regulations

as the Secretary may prescribe, and at a price sufficient to cover

the costs thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery,

and overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal.

SEC. 4. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS.

The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals

for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 5. FUNDING.

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

to be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise

Fund an amount not to exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of

the medals authorized by this Act.

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

duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the

United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.