I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7469 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in 
recognition of James Weldon Johnson. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 7, 2022 
Mr. LAWSON of Florida (for himself, Mr. COHEN, and Mr. GREEN of Texas) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Fi-
nancial Services 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemo-
rative coins in recognition of James Weldon Johnson. 
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 
House of Representatives in 1922, but failed in the 
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. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS. 
(a) QUALITY OF COINS.—Coins minted under this 
Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities. 
(b) PERIOD
FOR ISSUANCE.—The Secretary may 
issue coins minted under this Act only during the 1-year 
period beginning on January 1, 2024. 
SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS. 
(a) SALE PRICE.—The coins issued under this Act 
shall be sold by the Secretary at a price based upon the 
sum of— 
(1) the face value of the coins; 
(2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with 
respect to such coins; and 
(3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins 
(including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, 
overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping). 
(b) BULK SALES.—The Secretary shall make bulk 
sales of the coins issued under this Act at a reasonable 
discount. 
(c) PREPAID ORDERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall accept 
prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act 
before the issuance of such coins. 
(2) DISCOUNT.—Sale prices with respect to pre-
paid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a rea-
sonable discount. 
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SEC. 7. SURCHARGES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—All sales of coins minted under 
this Act shall include a surcharge as follows: 
(1) A surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin. 
(2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin. 
(3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dol-
lar coin. 
(b) DISTRIBUTION.—Subject to section 5134(f) of 
title 31, United States Code, all surcharges received by 
the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act 
shall be promptly paid as follows, for the purpose of 
strengthening educational outcomes for students, with a 
focus on students of color, and supporting social justice 
efforts: 
(1) 85 percent, divided equally between— 
(A) the Marshall-Motley Scholars Pro-
gram; 
(B) the Stanton College Preparatory 
School; and 
(C) the National Association for the Ad-
vancement of Colored People (NAACP). 
(2) 15 percent to the James Weldon Johnson 
Foundation. 
SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES. 
The Secretary shall take such actions as may be nec-
essary to ensure that— 
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(1) minting and issuing coins 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 
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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