I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2723
To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf of the Congress
to Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. (posthumously) and his
widow Coretta Scott King in recognition of their contributions to the
Nation on behalf of the civil rights movement.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 2, 2001
Ms. MCKINNEY (for herself, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. FIL-
NER, Ms. LEE, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. FATTAH,
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HILLIARD, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi,
Mr. PAYNE, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. OWENS, Mr. TOWNS, Mrs.
JONES of Ohio, Mr. WATT of North Carolina, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SCOTT, Mr.
MCNULTY, Mr. CLAY, Mr. FORD, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mrs. MEEK of
Florida, Ms. WATERS, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. DAVIS of Illi-
nois, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. FROST, Ms. NORTON, Mr. ROSS,
Mr. SABO, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. KUCINICH, Mrs.
CAPPS, Mr. LAHOOD, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. WYNN,
Mr. HONDA, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. FARR
of California, Mr. ETHERIDGE, Mr. DOGGETT, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr.
DEFAZIO, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr.
NADLER, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. CARSON of Oklahoma, Ms. PELOSI, Mr.
UNDERWOOD, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. LAN-
TOS, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. BECERRA, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. CONYERS, Ms.
BROWN of Florida, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. CLY-
BURN, Mr. HOLT, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. EVANS, Mr.
FERGUSON, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. COSTELLO, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr.
CAPUANO, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr.
ISRAEL, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. GEORGE MILLER
of California, Mr. BISHOP, Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma, Mr. SNYDER, Mr.
SANDERS, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. FRANK, Ms. WATSON of
California, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. GRUCCI,
Ms. SANCHEZ, Mr. WU, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. SHOWS, Mr. GREEN of
Texas, Mr. BARCIA, Ms. SLAUGHTER, and Mr. HOEFFEL) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
A BILL
To authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf
of the Congress to Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King,
Jr. (posthumously) and his widow Coretta Scott King
in recognition of their contributions to the Nation on
behalf of the civil rights movement.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.
and his widow Coretta Scott King, as the first fam-
ily of the civil rights movement, have distinguished
records of public service to the American people and
the international community.
(2) Dr. King preached a doctrine of nonviolent
civil disobedience to combat segregation, discrimina-
tion, and racial injustice.
(3) Dr. King led the Montgomery bus boycott
for 381 days to protest the arrest of Mrs. Rosa
Parks and the segregation of the bus system of
Montgomery, Alabama.
(4) In 1963, Dr. King led the march on Wash-
ington, D.C., that was followed by his famous ad-
dress, the ‘‘I Have a Dream’’ speech.
(5) Through his work and reliance on non-
violent protest, Dr. King was instrumental in the
passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Vot-
ing Rights Act of 1965.
(6) Despite efforts to derail his mission, Dr.
King acted on his dream of America and succeeded
in making the United States a better place.
(7) Dr. King was assassinated for his beliefs on
April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.
(8) Mrs. King stepped into the civil rights
movement in 1955 during the Montgomery bus boy-
cott and played an important role as a leading par-
ticipant in the American civil rights movement.
(9) While raising 4 children, Mrs. King devoted
herself to working alongside her husband for non-
violent social change and full civil rights for African
Americans.
(10) With a strong educational background in
music, Mrs. King established and performed several
Freedom Concerts, which were well received and
combined prose and poetry narration with musical
selections to increase awareness and understanding
of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (of
which Dr. King served as the first president).