I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4968 
To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Maya Angelou in 
recognition of her achievements and contributions to American culture 
and the civil rights movement. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 25, 2014 
Mr. HORSFORD (for himself, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. MESSER, and Mrs. BROOKS 
of Indiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House 
Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To posthumously award a Congressional gold medal to Maya 
Angelou in recognition of her achievements and contribu-
tions to American culture and 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. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Maya Angelou Con-
gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that: 
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(1) Dr. Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Ann 
Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 1928, 
and raised in Arkansas, was a prominent and cele-
brated author, poet, educator, producer, actress, 
filmmaker, and civil rights activist. 
(2) Dr. Maya Angelou published a myriad of 
literary works enshrining in history her storied life 
as an icon of the civil rights movement. 
(3) Hailed for her talents as a performing artist 
at an early age, Dr. Angelou toured Europe with a 
production of the Gershwin opera Porgy And Bess 
in 1955 and released her first album in 1957. 
(4) Committed to furthering the work of Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Dr. Maya Angelou served as a 
leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Con-
ference during the Civil Rights Movement. 
(5) In 1969, Dr. Maya Angelou penned the 
autobiography, ‘‘I Know Why the Caged Bird 
Sings’’, which catapulted her to international ac-
claim for its vivid and honest depiction of the experi-
ence of black women in the Jim Crow era. 
(6) Dr. Maya Angelou wrote the screenplay and 
composed the score for the 1972 film Georgia, Geor-
gia; her script, the first by an African-American 
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woman to be filmed, was nominated for a Pulitzer 
Prize. 
(7) Dr. Maya Angelou was the first African- 
American to serve as an Inaugural Poet, authoring 
and reciting the poem ‘‘Pulse of Morning’’ in 1993. 
(8) A trailblazer in literature and poetry, Dr. 
Maya Angelou bravely explored the ways in which 
socially marginalizing forces affected African-Amer-
ican women. 
(9) Dr. Maya Angelou was honored with the 
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, the Lincoln 
Medal in 2008, and the National Medal of Arts in 
2000 for her exceptional contributions to American 
culture as an author and poet. 
(10) As a distinguished educator, Dr. Maya 
Angelou received over 30 honorary degrees and 
served as the Reynolds Professor of American Stud-
ies at Wake Forest University from 1982 to 2014. 
(11) Dr. Maya Angelou passed away on May 
28, 2014, in her North Carolina home at age 86, 
leaving behind a legacy of literary achievement and 
an indelible mark on the movement for civil rights. 
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-
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pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 
for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, 
of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration 
of Dr. Maya Angelou in recognition of her achievements 
and contributions to American culture and the civil rights 
movement. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purpose of the 
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 
of the Treasury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 
‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em-
blems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the 
Secretary. 
(c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 
gold medal in honor of Dr. Maya Angelou under 
subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the 
Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be available 
for display as appropriate and made available for re-
search. 
(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that the Smithsonian Institution shall 
make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 
available for display, particularly at the National 
Museum of African American History and Culture, 
or for loan as appropriate so that it may be dis-
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played elsewhere, particularly at other appropriate 
locations associated with the life of Dr. Maya 
Angelou. 
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 
under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 
a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 
and the cost of the gold medal. 
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck under 
this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 
of title 31, United States Code. 
(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 
5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 
struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 
items. 
Æ 
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