Begun and held at the City of Washington on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the semicentennial of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

This Act may be cited as the `‘Civil Rights Act of 1964 Commemorative Coin Act'’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

The Congress hereby finds as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks'’ brave act of defiance, refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama, galvanized the modern civil rights movement and led to the desegregation of the South.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) On February 1, 1960, 4 college students, Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, David Richmond, and Ezell Blair, Jr., asked to be served at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, and lunch counter sit-ins began to occur throughout the South to challenge segregation in places of public accommodation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) On May 4, 1961, the Freedom Rides into the South began to test new court orders barring segregation in interstate transportation, and riders were jailed and beaten by mobs in several places, including Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was the leading civil rights advocate of the time, spearheading the civil rights movement in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s with the goal of nonviolent social change and full civil rights for African Americans.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., led over 250,000 civil rights supporters in the March on Washington and delivered his famous `‘I Have A Dream'’ speech to raise awareness and support for civil rights legislation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) Mrs. Coretta Scott King, a leading participant in the American civil rights movement, was side-by-side with her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during many civil rights marches, organized Freedom Concerts to draw attention to the Movement, and worked in her own right to create an America in which all people have equal rights.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) The mass movement sparked by Rosa Parks and led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., among others, called upon the Congress and Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson to pass civil rights legislation which culminated in the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(8) The Civil Rights Act of 1964 greatly expanded civil rights protections, outlawing racial discrimination and segregation in public places and places of public accommodation, in federally funded programs, and employment and encouraging desegregation in public schools, and has served as a model for subsequent anti-discrimination laws.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(9) We are an eminently better Nation because of Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and all those men and women who have confronted, and continue to confront, injustice and inequality wherever they see it.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(10) Equality in education was one of the cornerstones of the civil rights movement.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(11) On September 10, 1961, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote that African American `‘students are coming to understand that education and learning have become tools for shaping the future and not devices of privilege for an exclusive few'’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(12) Over its long and distinguished history, the United Negro College Fund has provided scholarships and operating funds to its member colleges that have enabled more than 300,000 young African Americans to earn college degrees and become successful members of society.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(13) Those graduates include Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as leaders in the fields of education, science, medicine, law, entertainment, literature, the military, and politics who have made major contributions to the civil rights movement and the creation of a more equitable society.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(14) Congress has an obligation to lead America'’s continued struggle to fight discrimination and ensure equal rights for all.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(15) The year 2014 will mark the semicentennial of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(a) Denominations- The Secretary of the Treasury (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the `Secretary'‘Secretary’) shall mint and issue not more than 350,000 $1 coins each of which shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) weigh 26.73 grams;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) have a diameter of 1.500 inches; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) contain 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Legal Tender- The coins minted under this Act shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103 of title 31, United States Code.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Numismatic Items- For purposes of section 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all coins minted under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(a) Design Requirements- The design of the coins minted under this Act shall be emblematic of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its contribution to civil rights in America.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Designation and Inscriptions- On each coin minted under this Act there shall be--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) a designation of the value of the coin;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) an inscription of the year `2014'‘2014’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) inscriptions of the words `Liberty', `‘Liberty’, ‘In God We Trust', `United States of America', and `’, ‘United States of America’, and ‘E Pluribus Unum'’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Selection- The design for the coins minted under this Act shall be--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) selected by the Secretary after consultation with the Commission of Fine Arts; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee established under section 5135 of title 31, United States Code.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(a) Quality of Coins- Coins minted under this Act shall be issued in uncirculated and proof qualities.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Commencement of Issuance- The Secretary may issue coins minted under this Act beginning January 1, 2014, except that the Secretary may initiate sales of such coins, without issuance, before such date.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Termination of Minting Authority- No coins shall be minted under this Act after December 31, 2014.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(a) Sale Price- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the coins issued under this Act shall be sold by the Secretary at a price equal to the sum of the face value of the coins, the surcharge required under section 7(a) for the coins, and the cost of designing and issuing such coins (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, overhead expenses, and marketing).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Bulk Sales- The Secretary shall make bulk sales of the coins issued under this Act at a reasonable discount.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Prepaid Orders at a Discount-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall accept prepaid orders for the coins minted under this Act before the issuance of such coins.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) DISCOUNT- Sale prices with respect to prepaid orders under paragraph (1) shall be at a reasonable discount.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(a) Surcharge Required- All sales shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Distribution- Subject to section 5134(f) of title 31, United States Code, all surcharges which are received by the Secretary from the sale of coins issued under this Act shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to carry out the purposes of the Fund, including providing scholarships and internships for minority students and operating funds and technology enhancement services for 39 member historically black colleges and universities.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Audits- The United Negro College Fund shall be subject to the audit requirements of section 5134(f)(2) of title 31, United States Code, with regard to the amounts received by the Fund under subsection (b).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Limitation- Notwithstanding subsection (a), no surcharge may be included with respect to the issuance under this Act of any coin during a calendar year if, as of the time of such issuance, the issuance of such coin would result in the number of commemorative coin programs issued during such year to exceed the annual 2 commemorative coin program issuance limitation under section 5112(m)(1) of title 31, United States Code (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act). The Secretary of the Treasury may issue guidance to carry out this subsection.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

PassedSpeaker of the House of Representatives April 1, 2008.Attest:LORRAINE C. MILLER,Clerk.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

President of the Senate.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink