I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4834 

To award a congressional gold medal to Ossie Davis in recognition of his 

many contributions to the Nation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 18, 2007 

Mr. RANGEL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To award a congressional gold medal to Ossie Davis in 

recognition of his many contributions to the Nation. 

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 ‘‘Ossie Davis Congres5 sional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) Raiford Chatman ‘‘Ossie’’ Davis was born 

9 on December 18, 1917, in Cogdell, Georgia, the eldVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:02 Dec 20, 2007 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4834.IH H4834

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1 est of 5 children, and died at the age of 87 in 

2 Miami, Florida, on February 4, 2005. 

3 (2) A gifted actor, playwright, producer, screen4 writer, director, and author, Ossie Davis was ad5 mired as a trailblazing entertainer and an unwaver6 ing advocate for social justice. 

7 (3) Over a 50-year career, Ossie Davis por8 trayed the lives and times of African Americans in 

9 many memorable performances on stage, television, 

10 and film. 

11 (4) Ossie Davis wrote numerous plays, books, 

12 and musicals that raised the Nation’s awareness of 

13 the challenges faced by African Americans in this 

14 country, and highlighted the nobility of their cause. 

15 (5) Ossie Davis portrayed positive and inspira16 tional images of African Americans in their strug17 gles under slavery and segregation, and served as a 

18 role model for future generations of American per19 formers and artists. 

20 (6) A steadfast voice for equality and social jus21 tice, Ossie Davis was an advocate for the dispos22 sessed and disenfranchised through his performing 

23 arts, civic engagement, and public activism. 

24 (7) Among his many noteworthy and acclaimed 

25 accomplishments, Ossie Davis wrote and starred in 


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1 the theatrical production ‘‘Purlie Victorious’’, di2 rected the movie ‘‘Cotton Comes to Harlem’’, and 

3 starred in the stage play ‘‘A Raisin in the Sun’’. 

4 (8) Ossie Davis and his wife of 56 years, Ruby 

5 Dee, were one of the most respected couples of the 

6 American entertainment industry, appearing to7 gether in several stage productions, television series, 

8 and movies, and producing ‘‘Countdown to Kusini’’, 

9 the first American feature film to be recorded en10 tirely in Africa by black professionals. 

11 (9) In recognition of his theatrical achieve12 ments, Ossie Davis received the Silver Circle Award 

13 from the National Academy of Television Arts and 

14 Sciences, the National Medal of Arts awarded by the 

15 President, the Life Achievement Award from the 

16 Screen Actors Guild, and the Kennedy Center Hon17 ors, the most prestigious public recognition of an 

18 artist’s lifetime contributions in the performing arts 

19 in the United States. 

20 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

21 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—In recognition of 

22 the many contributions of Ossie Davis to the Nation, the 

23 Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Presi24 dent pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate 

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1 gress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to the per2 sonal representative of Ossie Davis. 

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

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

5 of the Treasury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 

6 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em7 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 

8 Secretary. 

9 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

10 Under such regulations as the Secretary may pre11 scribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

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

13 sufficient to cover the costs of the gold and bronze medals, 

14 including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 

15 overhead expenses. 

16 SEC. 5. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

17 The medals struck under this Act are national medals 

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

19 SEC. 6. 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 costs of the medals struck pursuant 

24 to this Act. 


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

2 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 4 shall be 

3 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

4 Fund. 

Æ 


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