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.
PL 108-368 (S.1368), enacted 10/25/2004

118 STAT. 1746
PUBLIC LAW 108–368—OCT. 25, 2004
Public Law 108–368
108th Congress
An Act
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 Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. and his widow
Coretta Scott King, as the first family of the civil rights move-
ment, have distinguished records of public service to the Amer-
ican people and the international community;
(2) Dr. King preached a doctrine of nonviolent civil disobe-
dience to combat segregation, discrimination, and racial injus-
tice;
(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 Washington, D.C.,
that was followed by his famous address, the ‘‘I Have a Dream’’
speech;
(5) through his work and reliance on nonviolent protest,
Dr. King was instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, and the Voting 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 boycott, and played an impor-
tant role as a leading participant in the American civil rights
movement;
(9) while raising 4 children, Mrs. King devoted herself
to working alongside her husband for nonviolent 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 which combined prose and poetry
narration with musical selections to increase awareness and
understanding of the Southern Christian Leadership Con-
ference (of which Dr. King served as the first president);
31 USC 5111
note.
Oct. 25, 2004
[S. 1368]
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118 STAT. 1747
PUBLIC LAW 108–368—OCT. 25, 2004
(11) Mrs. King demonstrated composure in deep sorrow,
as she led the Nation in mourning her husband after his
brutal assassination;
(12) after the assassination, Mrs. King devoted all of her
time and energy to developing and building the Atlanta-based
Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change
(hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Center’’) as an enduring memorial
to her husband’s life and his dream of nonviolent social change
and full civil rights for all Americans;
(13) under Mrs. King’s guidance and direction, the Center
has flourished;
(14) the Center was the first institution built in honor
of an African American leader;
(15) the Center provides local, national, and international
programs that have trained tens of thousands of people in
Dr. King’s philosophy and methods, and claims the largest
archive of the civil rights movement; and
(16) Mrs. King led the massive campaign to establish Dr.
King’s birthday as a national holiday, and the holiday is now
celebrated in more than 100 countries.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The President is authorized
to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal of appropriate
design to Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. (posthumously)
and his widow Coretta Scott King, in recognition of their service
to the Nation.
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purpose of the presentations
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall
strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions,
to be determined by the Secretary.
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall strike and sell duplicates
in bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2, under
such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at a price sufficient
to cover the costs of the duplicate medals and the gold medal
(including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead
expenses).
SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.
The medals struck under this Act are national medals for
purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
SEC. 5. FUNDING AND PROCEEDS OF SALE.
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be charged against
the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund an amount not
to exceed $30,000 to pay for the cost of the medals authorized
by this Act.
President.
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118 STAT. 1748
PUBLIC LAW 108–368—OCT. 25, 2004
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 1368:
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 150 (2004):
Sept. 9, considered and passed Senate.
Oct. 8, considered and passed House.
(b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the sale of
duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in the
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
Approved October 25, 2004.
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