To posthumously award a historic Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to Africans and their descendants enslaved within our country from August 20, 1619, to December 6, 1865.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Green of Texas introduced the following bill; which was …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill awards a Congressional Gold Medal collectively to all Africans and their descendants who were enslaved in the United States from August 20, 1619 (when the first enslaved Africans arrived) to December 6, 1865 (when the 13th Amendment was ratified). The medal recognizes enslaved persons as "the greatest contributors to the foundation of America's economic greatness" and acknowledges the immense suffering they endured.
Who Benefits and How
Descendants of enslaved Africans and the broader African-American community benefit through formal congressional recognition of their ancestors' contributions and suffering. The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African-American History and Culture receives the gold medal for permanent display and research purposes. The U.S. Mint can generate revenue by selling bronze duplicate medals to the public.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The U.S. Treasury bears a modest cost to design and strike the gold medal. The costs are paid from the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund, which is offset by revenue from bronze duplicate sales. There are no ongoing compliance burdens or significant taxpayer costs.
Key Provisions
- Awards a single Congressional Gold Medal collectively to all enslaved Africans and their descendants from 1619 to 1865
- Establishes detailed congressional findings documenting the history of slavery, including the transatlantic slave trade, conditions of enslavement, and the economic value of slave labor (estimated at .9 to .2 trillion in 2009 dollars)
- Directs the medal to be displayed at the National Museum of African-American History and Culture
- Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates to cover costs
- Designates the gold medal as a national medal under federal law
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
The bill aims to posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to Africans and their descendants who were enslaved in the United States from 1619 to 1865. It recognizes their contributions to America's economic foundation while acknowledging the suffering caused by slavery.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
An award to recognize enslaved persons collectively for their contributions to the foundation of America's economic greatness.
The gold medal is designated as a national medal under Chapter 51 of Title 31, United States Code.
Congressional findings on the history of slavery in the United States, including the transatlantic slave trade, conditions of enslavement, and the economic impact of slave labor.
The original legislation awarding a historic Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to Africans and their descendants enslaved within our country from August 20, 1619, to December 6, 1865.
Bronze duplicates of the gold medal may be struck and sold to cover costs, with proceeds deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
The budgetary impact of the bill is to be determined by reference to a statement submitted by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology