I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8182 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint a commemorative coin 
in recognition of James Weldon Johnson. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 22, 2022 
Mr. LAWSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint a com-
memorative coin in recognition of James Weldon John-
son. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘James Weldon John-
son Commemorative Coin Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) James Weldon Johnson was born on June 
17, 1871, in Jacksonville, Florida, to a Bahamian 
mother, Helen Louise Dillet, and African-American 
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father, James Johnson. He had a younger brother, 
John Rosamund Johnson. His mother had a large 
influence on his interest in literature and music. 
(2) At the age of 16, James Weldon Johnson 
enrolled at Atlanta University, now Clark Atlanta 
University, a historically Black college, and grad-
uated in 1894. 
(3) James Weldon Johnson returned to Jack-
sonville following his graduation, where he served as 
principal of the Stanton School. He expanded the 
school to include Florida’s first high school for Afri-
can Americans, which opened in 1898. 
(4) In 1895, James Weldon Johnson started 
the Daily American, Florida’s first African-American 
newspaper. 
(5) During this period, James Weldon Johnson 
was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1897. He be-
came the first African American to pass the Florida 
Bar since the Reconstruction Era ended. 
(6) In 1899, James Weldon Johnson wrote the 
poem ‘‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’’ to honor Abra-
ham 
Lincoln’s 
birthday. 
His 
brother, 
John 
Rosamund Johnson, composed the music to turn it 
into a song. In 1919, the National Advancement of 
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Colored People (NAACP) designated the song as the 
‘‘Negro National Anthem’’. 
(7) As part of the Great Migration, James 
Weldon Johnson and John Rosamund Johnson 
moved to Harlem, New York. They became com-
posers for Broadway shows and later became inte-
gral figures of the Harlem Renaissance. 
(8) After winning the election, in 1906, Presi-
dent Theodore Roosevelt appointed James Weldon 
Johnson as U.S. Consul in Venezuela. In 1909, he 
was appointed as U.S. Consul in Nicaragua by 
President William Taft. 
(9) Following his diplomatic service, James 
Weldon Johnson became a field secretary for the 
NAACP in 1916. In 1920, he became the first Afri-
can-American Executive Secretary for the NAACP, 
where he helped increase membership, create new 
chapters, and organize Civil Rights movements 
across the country. 
(10) James Weldon Johnson represented the 
NAACP as the chief Congressional lobbyist to en-
courage passage of the Representative Leonidas 
Dyer anti-lynching bill. This bill went on to pass the 
U.S. House of Representatives in 1922 but failed in 
the U.S. Senate due to the filibuster. 
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(11) In 1930, after serving 10 years in the 
NAACP, James Weldon Johnson accepted an offer 
to become the Spence Chair of Creative Literature 
and Writing at Fisk University, a historically black 
college in Nashville, Tennessee. 
(12) In 1934, James Weldon Johnson was 
hired as the first Black professor at New York Uni-
versity, where he taught Creative Literature and 
Education. 
(13) James Weldon Johnson was an accom-
plished novelist and poet. He released several poetry 
collections and novels, among his most popular 
pieces of literature were God’s Trombones: Seven 
Negro Sermons in Verse and The Autobiography of 
an Ex-Colored Man. 
(14) James Weldon Johnson passed away sud-
denly in 1938. His funeral was held in Harlem, New 
York, where over 2,000 people attended. 
(15) James Weldon Johnson’s excellence revolu-
tionized literature, music, education, politics, and 
law. His fearlessness to fight for equality created 
pathways for African Americans to proudly pursue 
their aspirations. 
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SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS. 
(a) DENOMINATIONS.—In recognition and celebration 
of James Weldon Johnson, the Secretary of the Treasury 
(hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 
mint and issue not more than 400,000 $1 coins, which 
shall— 
(1) weigh 26.73 grams; 
(2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and 
(3) contain not less than 90-percent silver. 
(b) LEGAL TENDER.—The coin minted under this 
Act shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of 
title 31, United States Code. 
(c) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 
5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins 
minted under this Act shall be considered to be numis-
matic items. 
SEC. 4. DESIGN OF THE COIN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The designs for the coin minted 
under this Act shall be emblematic of James Weldon 
Johnson and shall bear the name and image of James 
Weldon Johnson. 
(b) DESIGNATIONS AND INSCRIPTIONS.—On the coin 
minted under this Act there shall be— 
(1) a designation of the denomination of the 
coin; 
(2) an inscription of the year ‘‘2025’’; 
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(3) the name and likeness of James Weldon 
Johnson; and 
(4) inscriptions of the words ‘‘Liberty’’, ‘‘In 
God We Trust’’, ‘‘United States of America’’, and 
‘‘E Pluribus Unum’’. 
(c) SELECTION.—The designs for the coin minted 
under this Act shall be— 
(1) selected by the Secretary, after consultation 
with the James Weldon Johnson Foundation, His-
toric Stanton, Inc., the family of James Weldon 
Johnson, and Commission of the Fine Arts; and 
(2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory 
Committee. 
SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF THE COIN. 
(a) QUALITY OF THE COIN.—The coin minted under 
this Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 
(b) PERIOD
FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 
issue the coin minted under this Act only during the 1- 
year period beginning on January 1, 2025. 
SEC. 6. SALE OF THE COIN. 
(a) SALE PRICE.—The coin issued under this Act 
shall be sold by the Secretary at a price based upon the 
sum of— 
(1) the face value of the coin; 
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(2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with 
respect to such coin; and 
(3) the cost of designing and issuing the coin 
(including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, 
overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 
(b) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make bulk 
sales of the coin issued under this Act at a reasonable 
discount. 
(c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall accept 
prepaid orders for the coin minted under this Act 
before the issuance of such coin. 
(2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre-
paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea-
sonable discount. 
SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—All sales of the coin minted under 
this Act shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin for the 
$1 coin. 
(b) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f) of 
title 31, United States Code, all surcharges received by 
the Secretary from the sale of coin issued under this Act 
shall be promptly paid equally by the Secretary to the His-
toric Stanton, Inc., and the James Weldon Johnson Foun-
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dation, for the purpose of strengthening educational out-
comes for students, with a focus on students of color. 
(c) AUDITS.—The Historic Stanton, Inc., and James 
Weldon Johnson Foundation shall be subject to the audit 
requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United 
States Code, with respect to amounts received under sub-
section (b). 
(d) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), 
no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance 
under this Act of any coin during a calendar year if, as 
of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin 
would result in the number of commemorative coin pro-
grams issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 
commemorative coin program issuance limitation under 
section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code. The 
Secretary may issue guidance to carry out this subsection. 
SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 
The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec-
essary to ensure that— 
(1) minting and issuing the coin under this Act 
will not result in any net cost to the United States 
Government; and 
(2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, 
are disbursed to the recipient designated in section 
7 until the total cost of designing and issuing all of 
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the coins authorized by this Act (including labor, 
materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, 
marketing, and shipping) is recovered by the United 
States Treasury, consistent with sections 5112(m) 
and 5134(f) of title 31, United States Code. 
Æ 
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