To award congressional gold medals posthumously on behalf of Reverend Joseph A. DeLaine, Harry and Eliza Briggs, and Levi Pearson in recognition of their contributions to the Nation as pioneers in the effort to desegregate public schools that led directly to the landmark desegregation case of Brown et al. v. the Board of Education of Topeka et al.
PL 108-180 (H.R.3287), enacted 12/15/2003

117 STAT. 2645
PUBLIC LAW 108–180—DEC. 15, 2003
Public Law 108–180
108th Congress
An Act
To award congressional gold medals posthumously on behalf of Reverend Joseph
A. DeLaine, Harry and Eliza Briggs, and Levi Pearson in recognition of their
contributions to the Nation as pioneers in the effort to desegregate public schools
that led directly to the landmark desegregation case of Brown et al. v. the
Board of Education of Topeka et al.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) The Reverend Joseph Armstrong DeLaine, one of the
true heroes of the civil rights struggle, led a crusade to break
down barriers in education in South Carolina.
(2) The efforts of Reverend DeLaine led to the desegregation
of public schools in the United States, but forever scarred
his own life.
(3) In 1949, Joseph DeLaine, a minister and school prin-
cipal, organized African-American parents in Summerton,
South Carolina, to petition the school board for a bus for
black students, who had to walk up to 10 miles through corn
and cotton fields to attend a segregated school, while the white
children in the school district rode to and from school in nice
clean buses.
(4) In 1950, these same parents, including Harry and Eliza
Briggs, sued to end public school segregation in Briggs et al.
v. Elliott et al., one of 5 cases that collectively led to the
landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision of Brown et al. v.
Board of Education of Topeka et al.
(5) Because of his participation in the desegregation move-
ment, Reverend DeLaine was subjected to repeated acts of
domestic terror in which—
(A) he, along with 2 sisters and a niece, lost their
jobs;
(B) he fought off an angry mob;
(C) he received frequent death threats; and
(D) his church and his home were burned to the
ground.
(6) In October 1955, after Reverend DeLaine relocated to
Florence County in South Carolina, shots were fired at the
DeLaine home, and because Reverend DeLaine fired back to
mark the car, he was charged with assault and battery with
intent to kill.
31 USC 5111
note.
Dec. 15, 2003
[H.R. 3287]
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117 STAT. 2646
PUBLIC LAW 108–180—DEC. 15, 2003
(7) The shooting incident drove him from South Carolina
to Buffalo, New York, where he organized an African Methodist
Episcopal Church.
(8) Believing that he would not be treated fairly by the
South Carolina judicial system if he returned to South Carolina,
Reverend DeLaine told the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
‘‘I am not running from justice but injustice’’, and it was not
until 2000 (26 years after his death and 45 years after the
incident) that Reverend DeLaine was cleared of all charges
relating to the October 1955 incident.
(9) Reverend DeLaine was a humble and fearless man
who showed the Nation that all people, regardless of the color
of their skin, deserve a first-rate education, a lesson from
which the Nation has benefited immeasurably.
(10) Reverend DeLaine deserves rightful recognition for
the suffering that he and his family endured to teach the
Nation one of the great civil rights lessons of the last century.
(11) Like the Reverend DeLaine and Harry and Eliza
Briggs, Levi Pearson was an integral participant in the struggle
to equalize the educational experiences of white and black
students in South Carolina.
(12) Levi Pearson, with the assistance of Reverend Joseph
DeLaine, filed a lawsuit against the Clarendon County School
District to protest the inequitable treatment of black children.
(13) As a result of his lawsuit, Levi Pearson also suffered
from acts of domestic terror, such as the time gun shots were
fired into his home, as well as economic consequences: local
banks refused to provide him with credit to purchase farming
materials and area farmers refused to lend him equipment.
(14) Although his case was ultimately dismissed on a tech-
nicality, Levi Pearson’s courage to stand up for equalized treat-
ment and funding for black students served as the catalyst
for further attempts to desegregate South Carolina schools,
as he continued to fight against segregation practices and
became President of Clarendon County Chapter of the NAACP.
(15) When Levi Pearson’s litigation efforts to obtain equal-
ized treatment and funding for black students were stymied,
Harry and Eliza Briggs, a service station attendant and a
maid, continued to fight for not only equalized treatment of
all children but desegregated schools as well.
(16) As with Reverend DeLaine and Levi Pearson, the
family of Harry and Eliza Briggs suffered consequences for
their efforts: Harry and Eliza both were fired from their jobs
and forced to move their family to Florida.
(17) Although they and their family suffered tremendously,
Harry and Eliza Briggs were also pioneers leading the effort
to desegregate America’s public schools.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—In recognition of the contribu-
tions of Reverend Joseph A. DeLaine, Harry and Eliza Briggs,
and Levi Pearson to the Nation as pioneers in the effort to deseg-
regate public schools that led directly to the landmark desegregation
case of Brown et al. v. the Board of Education of Topeka et al.,
the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President
Pro Tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements
for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal
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117 STAT. 2647
PUBLIC LAW 108–180—DEC. 15, 2003
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 3287 (S. 498):
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 149 (2003):
Nov. 18, considered and passed House.
Nov. 25, considered and passed Senate.
of appropriate design, to Joseph De Laine, Jr., as next of kin
of Reverend Joseph A. DeLaine, and to the next of kin or other
personal representative of Harry and Eliza Briggs and of Levi
Pearson.
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the awards
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter
in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike 3 gold medals
with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined
by the Secretary.
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the
gold medals struck pursuant to section 2, under such regulations
as the Secretary may prescribe, and at a price sufficient to cover
the costs thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery,
and overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medals.
SEC. 4. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS.
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursuant to 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.
SEC. 5. FUNDING.
(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 cost of
the medals authorized by this Act.
(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 December 15, 2003.
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