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

This bill, H.R. 4885 introduced in the 119th Congress, would authorize a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal presented collectively to Africans and their descendants enslaved in what is now the United States, spanning from August 20, 1619, to December 6, 1865. The sponsor’s intent is to recognize the immense suffering and the foundational role enslaved people played in building the United States’ economy and institutions. The medal would be designed by the Secretary of the Treasury, awarded on behalf of Congress, and then placed for display at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. The bill also authorizes the striking of bronze duplicates for sale to help cover costs, with proceeds going to the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund, and it treats the gold medal as a “national medal” under existing U.S. law. Budgetary effects are to be assessed under PAYGO rules. The bill contains extensive findings recounting aspects of the history of slavery, its economic impact, and its lasting legacy in American society, including references to monuments, institutions, and the Civil War era, to justify the award and its symbolic significance.