I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5309 
To posthumously award a congressional gold medal to Constance Baker Mot-
ley, in recognition of her enduring contributions and service to the 
United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 11, 2025 
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. AMO, 
Mr. AMODEI of Nevada, Ms. BALINT, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. 
BISHOP, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWN, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. 
CARSON, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Ms. 
CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. 
CROCKETT, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina, Ms. 
DEAN of Pennsylvania, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. ELLZEY, 
Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS
of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
FITZPATRICK, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mrs. FLETCHER, Mr. FROST, Mr. 
GARAMENDI, Mr. GARBARINO, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. GARCIA of 
Texas, Mr. GOLDEN of Maine, Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, Mr. GOMEZ, 
Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. HIMES, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 
HORSFORD, Mr. IVEY, Mr. JOYCE of Ohio, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KEATING, 
Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. LAWLER, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mr. LIEU, 
Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. MCCLEL-
LAN, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. MENENDEZ, 
Ms. MENG, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. MRVAN, Mr. 
NADLER, Mr. NEAL, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. NORCROSS, Mrs. TORRES of Cali-
fornia, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. PLASKETT, 
Mr. POCAN, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Ms. ROSS, Mr. RUTHERFORD, 
Mr. RYAN, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Ms. SCHOLTEN, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Geor-
gia, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. SIMPSON, Ms. 
STRICKLAND, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THANEDAR, Mr. 
THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. TITUS, Ms. 
TLAIB, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. TONKO, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mrs. 
TRAHAN, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, 
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. WILSON of Flor-
ida, and Mr. VALADAO) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Financial Services 
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A BILL 
To posthumously award a congressional gold medal to Con-
stance Baker Motley, in recognition of her enduring con-
tributions and service to the United States. 
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 ‘‘Congressional Tribute 
to Constance Baker Motley Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Constance Baker Motley was born in 1921, 
in New Haven, Connecticut, the daughter of immi-
grants from the Caribbean island of Nevis. 
(2) In 1943, Constance Baker Motley grad-
uated from New York University with a Bachelor of 
Arts degree in economics. 
(3) Upon receiving a law degree from Columbia 
University in 1946, Constance Baker Motley became 
a staff attorney at the National Association for the 
Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense and 
Educational Fund, Inc. (in this Act referred to as 
the ‘‘LDF’’), and fought tirelessly for 2 decades 
alongside Thurgood Marshall and other leading civil 
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rights lawyers to dismantle segregation throughout 
the United States. 
(4) Constance Baker Motley was the only fe-
male attorney on the LDF legal team that won the 
landmark desegregation case, Brown v. Board of 
Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). 
(5) Constance Baker Motley argued 10 major 
civil rights cases before the Supreme Court, winning 
all but one, including the case brought on behalf of 
James Meredith challenging the refusal of the Uni-
versity of Mississippi to admit him. 
(6) Constance Baker Motley’s only loss before 
the United States Supreme Court was in Swain v. 
Alabama, 380 U.S. 202 (1965), a case in which the 
Supreme Court refused to proscribe race-based pe-
remptory challenges in cases involving African-Amer-
ican defendants, and which was later reversed in 
Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), on 
grounds that were largely asserted by Constance 
Baker Motley in the Swain case. 
(7) In 1964, Constance Baker Motley became 
the first African-American woman elected to the 
New York State Senate. 
(8) In 1965, Constance Baker Motley became 
the first African-American woman, and the first 
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woman, to serve as president of the Borough of 
Manhattan. 
(9) Constance Baker Motley, in her capacity as 
an elected public official in New York, continued to 
fight for civil rights, dedicating herself to the revital-
ization of the inner city and improvement of urban 
public schools and housing. 
(10) In 1966, Constance Baker Motley was ap-
pointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as a judge 
on the United States District Court for the Southern 
District of New York. 
(11) The appointment of Constance Baker Mot-
ley made her the first African-American woman, and 
only the fifth woman, appointed and confirmed for 
a Federal judgeship. 
(12) In 1982, Constance Baker Motley was ele-
vated to Chief Judge of the United States District 
Court for the Southern District of New York, the 
largest Federal trial court in the United States. 
(13) Constance Baker Motley assumed senior 
status in 1986, and continued serving on the United 
States District Court for the Southern District of 
New York with distinction for nearly 2 decades. 
(14) Constance Baker Motley passed away on 
September 28, 2005, and is survived by her son, 
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Joel W. Motley III, 3 grandchildren, and nieces and 
nephews in Connecticut and in other States. 
(15) September 14, 2021, was the 100th anni-
versary of the birth of Constance Baker Motley. 
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The President 
pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House 
of Representatives are authorized to make appropriate ar-
rangements for the posthumous award, on behalf of Con-
gress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemo-
ration of Constance Baker Motley, in recognition of her 
enduring contributions and service to the United States. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—For the purpose of the 
award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of 
the Treasury (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec-
retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em-
blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by 
the Secretary. 
(2) IMAGE.—The emblems, devices, and inscrip-
tions determined by the Secretary shall include an 
image of Constance Baker Motley and an inscription 
of the name of Constance Baker Motley. 
(c) PRESENTATION.—With respect to the award de-
scribed under subsection (a), the award shall be presented 
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