[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 147 (Friday, September 13, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1149-E1150]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCTION OF THE PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR COMMEMORATIVE COIN ACT

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 13, 2019

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, today, I introduce the Paul Laurence 
Dunbar Commemorative Coin Act. This bill recognizes one of the first 
influential African-American poets in American literature and benefits 
the Dunbar Alumni Federation, the alumni association for the Paul 
Laurence Dunbar Senior High School, which is historic for being the 
first public high school for African Americans in the

[[Page E1150]]

United States. I myself am a proud graduate of Dunbar, a storied 
African-American high school in our country.
  Paul Laurence Dunbar was born June 27, 1872, to freed slaves, and 
went on to pen such classics as Majors and Minors and Lyrics of Lowly 
Life. He also composed the lyrics to In Dahomey, the first all-African-
American musical produced on Broadway. By the late 1890s, Dunbar had 
become a prominent author, having had his poems published in major 
national newspapers, including The New York Times. Dunbar died February 
9, 1906, at age 33.
  Paul Laurence Dunbar Senior High School was established in the 
District of Columbia in 1870 as the Preparatory High School for Colored 
Youth. It was the first college preparatory high school for African-
American children in the United States. The school was renamed for 
Dunbar in 1916.
  The Dunbar Alumni Federation was organized in 2002 to provide 
scholarships and other financial support to students and graduates of 
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. The Federation has alumni from more 
than 35 graduating classes, and supports the school through its 
scholarship efforts, community activities and other endeavors.
  This bill authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to mint 50,000 
five-dollar coins, 400,000 one-dollar coins, and 750,000 half-dollar 
coins, with a surcharge on each coin. The surcharges will benefit the 
scholarships and similar activities of the Dunbar Alumni Federation.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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