[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 6 (Monday, January 10, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S120-S121]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




EMMETT TILL AND MAMIE TILL-MOBLEY CONGRESSSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT OF 2021

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from 
further consideration of S. 450 and the Senate proceed to its immediate 
consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 450) to award posthumously the Congressional 
     Gold Medal to Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley.

  There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the 
Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Burr 
substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to; the bill, 
as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the 
motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 4897) in the nature of a substitute was agreed to 
as follows:

                (Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)

        Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

[[Page S121]]

  


     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Emmett Till and Mamie Till-
     Mobley Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2021''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) The brutal lynching of Emmett Till and the subsequent 
     bravery and boldness of his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, became 
     a catalyst for the civil rights movement.
       (2) On August 28, 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was 
     kidnapped, beaten, and shot in Money, Mississippi, where he 
     had traveled from Chicago to stay with his great uncle, Moses 
     Wright.
       (3) The corpse of Emmett Till was discovered 3 days later 
     in the Tallahatchie River and his murderers were acquitted 
     despite Moses Wright providing an eyewitness testimony that 
     the men on trial kidnapped Emmett Till.
       (4) Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till, 
     demonstrated her love for her son and her courage and 
     strength in suffering in the days that followed as she 
     brought the body of Emmett Till back to Chicago for burial 
     and demanded an open casket funeral, which drew more than 
     50,000 attendees.
       (5) Mamie Till-Mobley further allowed a photograph to be 
     taken of Emmett Till in his casket, which was shown 
     throughout the world.
       (6) The original casket of Emmett Till stands on display at 
     the National Museum of African American History and Culture 
     as an enduring reminder of the racial violence that is a part 
     of the history of the United States that the people of the 
     United States must confront.
       (7) The heroic actions of Mamie Till-Mobley in the midst of 
     evil, injustice, and grief became a catalyst for the civil 
     rights movement and continued in the years to come as she 
     worked for justice and honored the legacy of Emmett Till.
       (8) Mamie Till-Mobley went on to create the Emmett Till 
     Players, which was a significant national cultural 
     contribution as teenagers traveled throughout the country 
     presenting Martin Luther King Jr. speeches in the name of 
     Emmett Till.
       (9) Mamie Till-Mobley also served as chair and co-founder 
     of the Emmett Till Justice Campaign, which had the dual 
     mission of reopening the murder of Emmett Till for a 
     reinvestigation and a passage into law of Federal legislation 
     to ensure that other racially motivated murders during the 
     civil rights era were investigated and, when possible, 
     prosecuted.
       (10) The efforts of the Emmett Till Justice Campaign led to 
     the successful joint investigation by the State of 
     Mississippi, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the 
     Department of Justice in 2004, the passage of the Emmett Till 
     Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-344; 
     122 Stat. 3934), signed into law by President George W. Bush, 
     and the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes 
     Reauthorization Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-325; 130 Stat. 
     1965), signed into law by President Barack Obama.
       (11) The people of the United States honor the legacy of 
     Emmett Till and the incredible suffering and equally 
     incredible courage, resilience, and efforts of Mamie Till-
     Mobley that led to the civil rights movement that began in 
     the 1950s.

     SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

       (a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate 
     shall make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous 
     presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of 
     appropriate design in commemoration of Emmett Till and Mamie 
     Till-Mobley.
       (b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation 
     referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 
     (referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a 
     gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, 
     to be determined by the Secretary. The design shall bear an 
     image of, and inscriptions of the name of, ``Emmett Till'' 
     and ``Mamie Till-Mobley''.
       (c) Award of Medal.--
       (1) In general.--After the award of the gold medal referred 
     to in subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the 
     National Museum of African American History and Culture, 
     where it shall be displayed as appropriate.
       (2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the National Museum of African American History and Culture 
     should make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 
     available for display elsewhere, particularly at other 
     locations and events associated with Emmett Till and Mamie 
     Till-Mobley.

     SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

       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 medals, including labor, materials, 
     dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.

     SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.

       (a) National Medals.--Medals struck under this Act are 
     national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, 
     United States Code.
       (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of 
     title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this 
     Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.

     SEC. 6. 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 under this Act.
       (b) Proceeds of Sales.--Amounts received from the sale of 
     duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be 
     deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.

  The bill (S. 450), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a 
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.

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