James Weldon Johnson Commemorative Coin Act
Bill: H.R.7469 | Sponsor: Rep. Lawson, Al, Jr. (D-FL)
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
James Weldon Johnson Commemorative Coin Act
This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins emblematic of James Weldon Johnson, an influential writer, diplomat, educator, lawyer, and civil rights activist.
All surcharges received by Treasury from the sale of such coins must be paid to the Marshall-Motley Scholars Program, the Stanton College Preparatory School, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the James Weldon Johnson Foundation.

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in 
                  recognition of James Weldon Johnson.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``James Weldon Johnson 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 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 graduated in 1894.
            (3) James Weldon Johnson returned to Jacksonville following 
        his graduation, where he served as principal of the Stanton 
        School. He expanded the school to include Florida's first high 
        school for African 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 became 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 Abraham Lincoln's birthday. His 
        brother, John Rosamund Johnson, composed the music to turn it 
        into a song. In 1919, the National Advancement of 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 composers for Broadway shows and later became integral 
        figures of the Harlem Renaissance.
            (8) After winning the election, in 1906, President 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 African-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 encourage 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.
            (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 University, where he taught 
        Creative Literature and Education.
            (13) James Weldon Johnson was an accomplished 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 suddenly in 1938. His 
        funeral was held in Harlem, New York, where over 2,000 people 
        attended.
            (15) James Weldon Johnson's excellence revolutionized 
        literature, music, education, politics, and law. His 
        fearlessness to fight for equality created pathways for African 
        Americans to proudly pursue their aspirations.

SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.

    (a) Denominations.--The Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in 
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the 
following coins in recognition and celebration of James Weldon Johnson:
            (1) $5 gold coins.--Not more than 50,000 $5 coins, which 
        shall--
                    (A) weigh 8.359 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and
                    (C) contain not less than 90-percent gold.
            (2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 400,000 $1 coins, which 
        shall--
                    (A) weigh 26.73 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
                    (C) contain not less than 90-percent silver.
            (3) Half-dollar clad coins.--Not more than 750,000 half-
        dollar coins which shall--
                    (A) weigh 11.34 grams;
                    (B) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and
                    (C) be minted to the specifications for half-dollar 
                coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 31, United 
                States Code.
    (b) Legal Tender.--The coins minted under this Act shall be legal 
tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United States Code.
    (c) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and 5136 of 
title 31, United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.

SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.

    (a) Design Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--The design for the coins minted under this 
        Act shall be emblematic of James Weldon Johnson.
            (2) Designations and inscriptions.--On each coin minted 
        under this Act, there shall be--
                    (A) a designation of the denomination of the coin;
                    (B) an inscription of the year ``2024''; and
                    (C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God 
                We Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E 
                Pluribus Unum''.
    (b) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under this Act 
shall be--
            (1) selected by the Secretary in consultation with the 
        Commission of Fine Arts; and
            (2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

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 prepaid orders 
        under paragraph (1) shall be at a reasonable discount.

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-dollar 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 Program;
                    (B) the Stanton College Preparatory School; and
                    (C) the National Association for the Advancement 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 necessary to ensure 
that--
            (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.
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