SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the as the ‘‘Marshall ‘Major’ 
Taylor Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Marshall Walter ‘‘Major’’ Taylor was born 
in Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 26, 1878, to 
Black parents who likely had been enslaved in Ken-
tucky, and died impoverished on June 21, 1932, in 
a hospital charity ward in Chicago, Illinois. 
(2) As a child, Taylor spent considerable time 
at the home of a wealthy White family in Indianap-
olis who employed his father as a coachman, treated 
the Black youngster as an equal to their son, Daniel 
Southard, and gave Taylor his first bicycle. 
(3) Taylor acquired the nickname ‘‘Major’’ in 
his youth when he performed bicycle tricks outside 
his workplace, the Hay & Willits bike shop in Indi-
anapolis, while wearing a military-style jacket, and 
he won his first bike race in 1890 at age 11. 
(4) Taylor moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, 
with his employer, mentor, and racing manager, 
Louis D. ‘‘Birdie’’ Munger, in 1895, and became 
known in his sport not only for his lightning sprints 
but also for his good sportsmanship, disciplined 
physical training, and devotion to his religion. 
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(5) Taylor received a professional racing license 
from the League of American Wheelmen at age 18 
despite the League’s 1894 ‘‘whites only’’ rule for 
amateur membership and made his professional 
debut in December 1896 in a six-day race at Madi-
son Square Garden in New York, New York, defeat-
ing national champion Eddie Bald in a half-mile ex-
hibition race on the eve of the six-day endurance 
contest and placing eighth in the six-day track cy-
cling competition. 
(6) In 1897, Taylor earned a spot alongside 4 
White men on one of the first racially integrated 
professional sports teams in the nation, a five-man 
squad that won a Boston vs. Philadelphia pursuit 
race held in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 
(7) Taylor set numerous world speed records 
and held 7 world records at the end of 1898 for var-
ious distances, including the coveted 1 mile, and he 
further lowered the 1-mile world record to 1 minute, 
19 seconds in 1899. 
(8) Taylor overcame racial prejudice throughout 
his career, showing remarkable dignity in the face of 
closed doors and open hostility, including race-based 
denial of meals and lodging; racist cartoons and 
caricatures; bureaucratic maneuvers that threatened 
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his racing eligibility; race-based exclusion from cer-
tain tracks and competitions on the national circuit; 
White opponents’ plots and tactics to box him in on 
the track, cause him to crash, or prevent him from 
competing in the first place; a post-race choking by 
a competitor on a racetrack in Taunton, Massachu-
setts, that left Taylor unconscious; White neighbors’ 
objections to his purchase of a house in Worcester; 
and a death threat signed ‘‘White Riders’’ that was 
delivered in Savannah, Georgia. 
(9) Taylor was one of the first Black athletes 
to secure corporate sponsorship, representing bicycle 
brands such as Iver Johnson, Sager, Stearns, and 
Orient, and he became one of the wealthiest Black 
men in America and a substantial benefactor to his 
church in Worcester. 
(10) Taylor pioneered the use of an innovative 
adjustable handlebar stem, using the extension to 
improve his aerodynamic position, and to this day 
this type of outrigger is called a Major Taylor stem. 
(11) Taylor won the world 1-mile sprint cham-
pionship in Montreal on August 10, 1899, becoming 
the second Black athlete to win a world title in any 
sport, and won the United States championship later 
that year. 
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(12) As a devout Christian, Taylor refused for 
years to race on Sundays, and accordingly he turned 
down lucrative offers to race in Europe, until, by vir-
tue of his international superstardom, he could nego-
tiate a ‘‘no Sundays’’ provision in a European racing 
contract for 1901. 
(13) Finding refuge in France, where he was 
still often the only Black racer on the track, Taylor 
defeated every European champion during the 
course of six tours of Europe from 1901 to 1909 
and also had numerous racing successes in Australia 
and New Zealand. 
(14) After retiring from racing in 1910 and 
finding little success in the business world, Taylor 
wrote his 1928 autobiography, ‘‘The Fastest Bicycle 
Rider in the World,’’ with an appeal for ‘‘simple jus-
tice, equal rights, and a square deal’’ for African 
Americans in sports and ‘‘every . . . human endeav-
or,’’ as well as advice for youth on good sportsman-
ship and clean living. 
(15) Drawing on exemplary determination and 
perseverance, Taylor demonstrated not only domi-
nant athletic prowess but also tremendous strength 
of character as he broke racial barriers, reached the 
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pinnacle of international sport, and served as a role 
model for generations to come. 
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-
pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 
for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of the Con-
gress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemo-
ration of Marshall Walter ‘‘Major’’ Taylor, in recognition 
of his significance to the nation as an athlete, trailblazer, 
role model, and equal rights advocate. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 
of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 
devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec-
retary. The design shall bear an image of, and inscription 
of the name of Marshall Walter ‘‘Major’’ Taylor. 
(c) DISPOSITION OF MEDAL.—Following the award 
of the gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal 
shall be given to the great-granddaughter of Marshall 
Walter ‘‘Major’’ Taylor, Karen Donovan. 
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 at 
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a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu-
ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 
51 of title 31, United States Code. 
(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 
5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 
struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 
items. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 
SALE. 
(a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 
authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 
Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec-
essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck pursuant 
to this Act. 
(b) PROCEEDS
OF SALE.—The amounts received 
from the sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under 
section 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint 
Public Enterprise Fund. 
Æ 
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