Authorizes the award of a single gold medal to John H. Johnson (creator of Ebony magazine) in recognition of his outstanding work, leadership, and service.
Permits the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3868 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3868
To grant the congressional gold medal to John H. Johnson in recognition
of his outstanding contributions to the United States.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 1, 2012
Mr. Rush introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To grant the congressional gold medal to John H. Johnson in recognition
of his outstanding contributions to the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) John H. Johnson published the first edition of the
Negro Digest in 1942, having conceived of the idea while
working at the Supreme Life Insurance Company.
(2) This publication covered African-American history,
literature, arts, and cultural issues and reached a circulation
of 50,000 within six months.
(3) Renamed to Black World, the publication reached a
circulation of more than 100,000 subscribers at its peak.
(4) Johnson's later creation, Ebony magazine, supplanted
this record in selling out its initial run of 25,000 printed
copies and at its height had 2,300,000 subscribers.
(5) Through Ebony magazine, Johnson provided insight into
the African-American community by reporting on issues such as
``the white problem in America'', African-American militancy,
crimes by African-Americans against African-Americans, civil
rights legislation, freedom rides and marches, and other
aspects of segregation and discrimination.
(6) Johnson worked to ensure that the contributions of
African-Americans to the United States were documented by
trained historians who were brought on to the magazine's staff.
(7) Striving to show positive images of African-Americans,
Johnson featured African-American models in the magazine's
advertisements, and a concerted effort was made to show
positive aspects of African-American life and culture.
(8) Johnson's quest to serve African-American readers
continued in subsequent years by launching four other magazines
entitled Tan, Jet, African American Stars, and Ebony Jr!, a
children's magazine.
(9) Johnson later expanded his enterprise when becoming
chairman and chief executive officer of the Supreme Life
Insurance Company, developing a line of cosmetics, owning three
radio stations, starting a book publishing company, and a
television production company.
(10) Invited by the United States Government to participate
in several international missions, Johnson accompanied the Vice
President of the United States on a mission to Russia and
Poland in 1959, and was appointed to be a Special Ambassador to
represent the United States at the independence ceremonies in
the Ivory Coast in 1961 and Kenya in 1963.
(11) In 1966, Johnson was honored with the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Spingarn
Medal for his contributions to improving race relations in the
United States.
(12) In 1966, The Horatio Alger Association of
Distinguished Americans awarded Johnson the Horatio Alger Award
in recognition of his outstanding work as a dedicated community
leader.
(13) In 1972, Johnson was named Publisher of the Year by
the Magazine Publishers Association, an industry association
for consumer magazines.
(14) In 1993, the Wall Street Journal awarded Johnson with
the Dow Jones Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.
(15) In 1994, Johnson was awarded the Center for
Communication's Communication Award, on the occasion of Ebony's
50th anniversary.
(16) In 1996, President William Clinton awarded Johnson the
Presidential Medal of Freedom which was followed in 1997 by
Johnson's induction into the Junior Achievement National
Business Hall of Fame.
(17) In 2001, Johnson was inducted into the Arkansas
Business Hall of Fame.
(18) Among his numerous awards and honors, Johnson has been
awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Arkansas at
Pine Bluff, Harvard University, the University of Southern
California, Carnegie Mellon University, Eastern Michigan
University, and Wayne State University.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Award Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of Representatives
and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate
arrangements for the award, on behalf of the Congress, of a single gold
medal of appropriate design to John H. Johnson in recognition of his
outstanding work, leadership, and service.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purposes of the award referred to
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall strike the gold medal with
suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the
Secretary.
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the
Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal
struck under section 2, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the
medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses.
SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS.
The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for
purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.
(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 costs of the medals struck
pursuant to this Act.
(b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate
bronze medals authorized under section 3 shall be deposited into the
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology.
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