110 HR 4834 IH: Ossie Davis Congressional Gold Medal
U.S. House of Representatives
2007-12-18
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EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as the
Ossie Davis Congressional Gold Medal
Act
.
2.The Congress finds as follows:
(1)Raiford Chatman Ossie
Davis
was born on December 18, 1917, in Cogdell, Georgia, the eldest of 5 children,
and died at the age of 87 in Miami, Florida, on February 4, 2005.
(2)A gifted actor, playwright, producer,
screenwriter, director, and author, Ossie Davis was admired as a trailblazing
entertainer and an unwavering advocate for social justice.
(3)Over a 50-year
career, Ossie Davis portrayed the lives and times of African Americans in many
memorable performances on stage, television, and film.
(4)Ossie Davis wrote
numerous plays, books, and musicals that raised the Nation’s awareness of the
challenges faced by African Americans in this country, and highlighted the
nobility of their cause.
(5)Ossie Davis
portrayed positive and inspirational images of African Americans in their
struggles under slavery and segregation, and served as a role model for future
generations of American performers and artists.
(6)A
steadfast voice for equality and social justice, Ossie Davis was an advocate
for the dispossessed and disenfranchised through his performing arts, civic
engagement, and public activism.
(7)Among his many
noteworthy and acclaimed accomplishments, Ossie Davis wrote and starred in the
theatrical production Purlie Victorious
, directed the movie
Cotton Comes to Harlem
, and starred in the stage play A
Raisin in the Sun
.
(8)Ossie Davis and his wife of 56 years, Ruby
Dee, were one of the most respected couples of the American entertainment
industry, appearing together in several stage productions, television series,
and movies, and producing Countdown to Kusini
, the first
American feature film to be recorded entirely in Africa by black
professionals.
(9)In recognition of
his theatrical achievements, Ossie Davis received the Silver Circle Award from
the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the National Medal of
Arts awarded by the President, the Life Achievement Award from the Screen
Actors Guild, and the Kennedy Center Honors, the most prestigious public
recognition of an artist’s lifetime contributions in the performing arts in the
United States.
3.
(a)In recognition of
the many contributions of Ossie Davis to the Nation, the Speaker of the House
of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make
appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a
gold medal of appropriate design to the personal representative of Ossie
Davis.
(b)For the purpose of the presentation referred to in
subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (hereinafter in this Act referred
to as the Secretary
) shall strike a gold medal with suitable
emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
4.Under such regulations
as the Secretary may prescribe, the Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in
bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3 at a price sufficient to cover
the costs of the gold and bronze medals, including labor, materials, dies, use
of machinery, and overhead expenses.
5.The medals struck under
this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United
States Code.
6.
(a)Authority To Use
Fund AmountsThere 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)Amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals
under section 4 shall be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise
Fund.