James Weldon Johnson Commemorative Coin Act
This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar clad coins emblematic of James Weldon Johnson, an influential writer, diplomat, educator, lawyer, and civil rights activist.
All surcharges received by Treasury from the sale of such coins must be paid to the Marshall-Motley Scholars Program, the Stanton College Preparatory School, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the James Weldon Johnson Foundation.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7469 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7469
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in
recognition of James Weldon Johnson.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 7, 2022
Mr. Lawson of Florida (for himself, Mr. Cohen, and Mr. Green of Texas)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint commemorative coins in
recognition of James Weldon Johnson.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``James Weldon Johnson Commemorative
Coin Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) James Weldon Johnson was born on June 17, 1871, in
Jacksonville, Florida, to a Bahamian mother, Helen Louise
Dillet, and African-American father, James Johnson. He had a
younger brother, John Rosamund Johnson. His mother had a large
influence on his interest in literature and music.
(2) At the age of 16, James Weldon Johnson enrolled at
Atlanta University, now Clark Atlanta University, a
historically Black college, and graduated in 1894.
(3) James Weldon Johnson returned to Jacksonville following
his graduation, where he served as principal of the Stanton
School. He expanded the school to include Florida's first high
school for African Americans, which opened in 1898.
(4) In 1895, James Weldon Johnson started the Daily
American, Florida's first African-American newspaper.
(5) During this period, James Weldon Johnson was admitted
to the Florida Bar in 1897. He became the first African
American to pass the Florida Bar since the Reconstruction Era
ended.
(6) In 1899, James Weldon Johnson wrote the poem ``Lift
Every Voice and Sing'' to honor Abraham Lincoln's birthday. His
brother, John Rosamund Johnson, composed the music to turn it
into a song. In 1919, the National Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP) designated the song as the ``Negro National
Anthem''.
(7) As part of the Great Migration, James Weldon Johnson
and John Rosamund Johnson moved to Harlem, New York. They
became composers for Broadway shows and later became integral
figures of the Harlem Renaissance.
(8) After winning the election, in 1906, President Theodore
Roosevelt appointed James Weldon Johnson as U.S. Consul in
Venezuela. In 1909, he was appointed as U.S. Consul in
Nicaragua by President William Taft.
(9) Following his diplomatic service, James Weldon Johnson
became a field secretary for the NAACP in 1916. In 1920, he
became the first African-American executive secretary for the
NAACP, where he helped increase membership, create new
chapters, and organize civil rights movements across the
country.
(10) James Weldon Johnson represented the NAACP as the
chief Congressional lobbyist to encourage passage of the
Representative Leonidas Dyer anti-lynching bill. This bill went
on to pass the House of Representatives in 1922, but failed in
the Senate due to the filibuster.
(11) In 1930, after serving 10 years in the NAACP, James
Weldon Johnson accepted an offer to become the Spence Chair of
Creative Literature and Writing at Fisk University, a
historically Black college in Nashville, Tennessee.
(12) In 1934, James Weldon Johnson was hired as the first
Black professor at New York University, where he taught
Creative Literature and Education.
(13) James Weldon Johnson was an accomplished novelist and
poet. He released several poetry collections and novels, among
his most popular pieces of literature were God's Trombones:
Seven Negro Sermons in Verse and The Autobiography of an Ex-
Colored Man.
(14) James Weldon Johnson passed away suddenly in 1938. His
funeral was held in Harlem, New York, where over 2,000 people
attended.
(15) James Weldon Johnson's excellence revolutionized
literature, music, education, politics, and law. His
fearlessness to fight for equality created pathways for African
Americans to proudly pursue their aspirations.
SEC. 3. COIN SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) Denominations.--The Secretary of the Treasury (hereafter in
this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall mint and issue the
following coins in recognition and celebration of James Weldon Johnson:
(1) $5 gold coins.--Not more than 50,000 $5 coins, which
shall--
(A) weigh 8.359 grams;
(B) have a diameter of 0.850 inches; and
(C) contain not less than 90-percent gold.
(2) $1 silver coins.--Not more than 400,000 $1 coins, which
shall--
(A) weigh 26.73 grams;
(B) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; and
(C) contain not less than 90-percent silver.
(3) Half-dollar clad coins.--Not more than 750,000 half-
dollar coins which shall--
(A) weigh 11.34 grams;
(B) have a diameter of 1.205 inches; and
(C) be minted to the specifications for half-dollar
coins contained in section 5112(b) of title 31, United
States Code.
(b) Legal Tender.--The coins minted under this Act shall be legal
tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United States Code.
(c) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and 5136 of
title 31, United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be
considered to be numismatic items.
SEC. 4. DESIGN OF COINS.
(a) Design Requirements.--
(1) In general.--The design for the coins minted under this
Act shall be emblematic of James Weldon Johnson.
(2) Designations and inscriptions.--On each coin minted
under this Act, there shall be--
(A) a designation of the denomination of the coin;
(B) an inscription of the year ``2024''; and
(C) inscriptions of the words ``Liberty'', ``In God
We Trust'', ``United States of America'', and ``E
Pluribus Unum''.
(b) Selection.--The design for the coins minted under this Act
shall be--
(1) selected by the Secretary in consultation with the
Commission of Fine Arts; and
(2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.
SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF COINS.
(a) Quality of Coins.--Coins minted under this Act shall be issued
in uncirculated and proof qualities.
(b) Period for Issuance.--The Secretary may issue coins minted
under this Act only during the 1-year period beginning on January 1,
2024.
SEC. 6. SALE OF COINS.
(a) Sale Price.--The coins issued under this Act shall be sold by
the Secretary at a price based upon the sum of--
(1) the face value of the coins;
(2) the surcharge provided in section 7(a) with respect to
such coins; and
(3) the cost of designing and issuing the coins (including
labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses,
marketing, and shipping).
(b) Bulk Sales.--The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the coins
issued under this Act at a reasonable discount.
(c) Prepaid Orders.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall accept prepaid orders
for the coins minted under this Act before the issuance of such
coins.
(2) Discount.--Sale prices with respect to prepaid orders
under paragraph (1) shall be at a reasonable discount.
SEC. 7. SURCHARGES.
(a) In General.--All sales of coins minted under this Act shall
include a surcharge as follows:
(1) A surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin.
(2) A surcharge of $10 per coin for the $1 coin.
(3) A surcharge of $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin.
(b) Distribution.--Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United
States Code, all surcharges received by the Secretary from the sale of
coins issued under this Act shall be promptly paid as follows, for the
purpose of strengthening educational outcomes for students, with a
focus on students of color, and supporting social justice efforts:
(1) 85 percent, divided equally between--
(A) the Marshall-Motley Scholars Program;
(B) the Stanton College Preparatory School; and
(C) the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP).
(2) 15 percent to the James Weldon Johnson Foundation.
SEC. 8. FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.
The Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure
that--
(1) minting and issuing coins under this Act will not
result in any net cost to the United States Government; and
(2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, are
disbursed to the recipient designated in section 7 until the
total cost of designing and issuing all of the coins authorized
by this Act (including labor, materials, dies, use of
machinery, overhead expenses, marketing, and shipping) is
recovered by the United States Treasury, consistent with
sections 5112(m) and 5134(f) of title 31, United States Code.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
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