Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021
Bill: S.450 | Sponsor: Sen. Burr, Richard (R-NC)
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Summary:
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021
This act provides for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley.
After it is awarded, the medal shall be given to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

[117th Congress Public Law 334]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 6139]]

 EMMETT TILL AND MAMIE TILL-MOBLEY CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT OF 2021

[[Page 136 STAT. 6140]]

Public Law 117-334
117th Congress

                                 An Act


 
 To award posthumously the Congressional Gold Medal to Emmett Till and 
         Mamie Till-Mobley. <<NOTE: Jan. 5, 2023 -  [S. 450]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Emmett Till and 
Mamie Till-Mobley Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021. 31 USC 5111 
note.>> 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley 
Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The brutal lynching of Emmett Till and the subsequent 
        bravery and boldness of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, became a 
        catalyst for the civil rights movement.
            (2) On August 28, 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was 
        kidnapped, beaten, and shot in Money, Mississippi, where he had 
        traveled from Chicago to stay with his great uncle, Moses 
        Wright.
            (3) The corpse of Emmett Till was discovered 3 days later in 
        the Tallahatchie River and his murderers were acquitted despite 
        Moses Wright providing an eyewitness testimony that the men on 
        trial kidnapped Emmett Till.
            (4) Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till, 
        demonstrated her love for her son and her courage and strength 
        in suffering in the days that followed as she brought the body 
        of Emmett Till back to Chicago for burial and demanded an open 
        casket funeral, which drew more than 50,000 attendees.
            (5) Mamie Till-Mobley further allowed a photograph to be 
        taken of Emmett Till in his casket, which was shown throughout 
        the world.
            (6) The original casket of Emmett Till stands on display at 
        the National Museum of African American History and Culture as 
        an enduring reminder of the racial violence that is a part of 
        the history of the United States that the people of the United 
        States must confront.
            (7) The heroic actions of Mamie Till-Mobley in the midst of 
        evil, injustice, and grief became a catalyst for the civil 
        rights movement and continued in the years to come as she worked 
        for justice and honored the legacy of Emmett Till.
            (8) Mamie Till-Mobley went on to create the Emmett Till 
        Players, which was a significant national cultural contribution 
        as teenagers traveled throughout the country presenting Martin 
        Luther King Jr. speeches in the name of Emmett Till.

[[Page 136 STAT. 6141]]

            (9) Mamie Till-Mobley also served as chair and co-founder of 
        the Emmett Till Justice Campaign, which had the dual mission of 
        reopening the murder of Emmett Till for a reinvestigation and a 
        passage into law of Federal legislation to ensure that other 
        racially motivated murders during the civil rights era were 
        investigated and, when possible, prosecuted.
            (10) The efforts of the Emmett Till Justice Campaign led to 
        the successful joint investigation by the State of Mississippi, 
        the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of 
        Justice in 2004, the passage of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil 
        Rights Crime Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-344; 122 Stat. 3934), 
        signed into law by President George W. Bush, and the Emmett Till 
        Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016 (Public 
        Law 114-325; 130 Stat. 1965), signed into law by President 
        Barack Obama.
            (11) The people of the United States honor the legacy of 
        Emmett Till and the incredible suffering and equally incredible 
        courage, resilience, and efforts of Mamie Till-Mobley that led 
        to the civil rights movement that began in the 1950s.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

    (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the President pro tempore 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 
Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley.
    (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation referred 
to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this 
Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with suitable 
emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. 
The design shall bear an image of, and inscriptions of the name of, 
``Emmett Till'' and ``Mamie Till-Mobley''.
    (c) Award of Medal.--
            (1) In general.--After the award of the gold medal referred 
        to in subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the 
        National Museum of African American History and Culture, where 
        it shall be displayed as appropriate.
            (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
        National Museum of African American History and Culture should 
        make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) available for 
        display elsewhere, particularly at other locations and events 
        associated with Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

    The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold 
medal struck under section 3, at a price sufficient to cover the costs 
of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and 
overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

    (a) National Medals.--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 section 5134 of title 31, 
United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be considered 
to be numismatic items.

[[Page 136 STAT. 6142]]

SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.

    (a) Authority to Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to be 
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such 
amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck 
under this Act.
    (b) Proceeds of Sales.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate 
bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited into the 
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

    Approved January 5, 2023.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 450:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 168 (2022):
            Jan. 10, considered and passed Senate.
            Dec. 21, considered and passed House.

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