I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7107 

To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Shirley Chisholm. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 30, 2018 

Mr. JEFFRIES (for himself, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. MEEKS, Mrs. CAROLYN B. 

MALONEY of New York, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Ms. CLARKE of New 

York, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. 

THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. RICHMOND, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. FUDGE, Ms. LEE, Mr. SEAN PATRICK

MALONEY of New York, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. ENGEL, Mrs. LAWRENCE, 

Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. PLASKETT, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BASS, Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD, Mr. ELLISON, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. SERRANO, Mrs. LOWEY, 

Mr. TONKO, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. NADLER, Mr. 

LAWSON of Florida, Mr. EVANS, Mr. CLAY, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. 

SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Miss RICE of New 

York, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. WILSON

of Florida, Ms. MENG, Mr. RUSH, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. DONOVAN, Ms. MOORE, and Mr. PAYNE) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to 

Shirley Chisholm. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Shirley Chisholm Con3 gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds as follows: 

6 (1) Shirley Chisholm was a pioneer: She was 

7 the first African-American woman elected to Con8 gress in 1968 where she served until 1982. 

9 (2) Shirley Chisholm inspired and led the 

10 march of political achievement by African Americans 

11 and women in the three decades since she ran for 

12 the Presidency of the United States. 

13 (3) Her election to Congress and her candidacy 

14 for the Presidency raised the profile and aspirations 

15 of all African Americans and women in the field of 

16 politics. 

17 (4) Shirley Chisholm was recognized for her ac18 tivism, independence, and groundbreaking achieve19 ments in politics during and after the civil rights 

20 era. 

21 (5) Shirley Chisholm was born in Brooklyn, 

22 New York, on November 30, 1924, attended Brook23 lyn College, and earned a Master’s degree from Co24 lumbia University. 


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1 (6) Shirley Chisholm worked in education and 

2 social services before being elected to the New York 

3 State Assembly in 1964. 

4 (7) Shirley Chisholm established the Unity 

5 Democratic Club in 1960, which played a significant 

6 role in rallying Black and Hispanic voters in New 

7 York City. 

8 (8) In 1969, Shirley Chisholm began her service 

9 in the 91st Congress, representing Brooklyn’s 12th 

10 Congressional District in the United States House of 

11 Representatives. 

12 (9) During her service in the House of Rep13 resentatives, Shirley Chisholm promoted the employ14 ment of women in Congress and was vocal in her 

15 support of civil rights, women’s rights, and the poor, 

16 while fervently opposing the Vietnam War. 

17 (10) In 1972, Shirley Chisholm was the first 

18 African American to seek the nomination of a major 

19 party for President of the United States. 

20 (11) Shirley Chisholm was a co-founder of the 

21 National Organization for Women. 

22 (12) An historic figure in American political 

23 history, Shirley Chisholm died at the age of 80 in 

24 Ormond Beach, Florida, on New Year’s Day 2005. 


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1 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

2 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

3 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem4 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

5 for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of the Con6 gress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemo7 ration of Shirley Chisholm, in recognition of her activism, 

8 independence, and groundbreaking achievements in poli9 tics, her election as the first African-American woman in 

10 the Congress, and her campaign to be the first African 

11 American to gain the nomination of a major political party 

12 for President of the United States. 

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

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

15 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec16 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

17 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec18 retary. 

19 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

20 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

21 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 

22 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

23 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 

24 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 

25 and the cost of the gold medal. 


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1 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

2 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu3 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

4 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

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

6 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

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

Æ 


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