# Congressional Tribute to Constance Baker Motley Act of 2023

This bill honors civil rights pioneer Constance Baker Motley by awarding her a congressional gold medal after her death. It's essentially Congress saying "thank you" to someone who made extraordinary contributions to the country by giving her one of the highest civilian honors available.

Constance Baker Motley was a groundbreaking lawyer and judge who spent her career fighting racial segregation. She was the only woman on the legal team that won the famous Brown v. Board of Education case, which ended school segregation. She argued ten major civil rights cases before the Supreme Court and won nine of them. Later, she became the first African-American woman appointed to a federal judgeship and eventually served as Chief Judge of a major New York federal court. The bill details her remarkable career to explain why Congress believes she deserves this recognition.

The practical side of the bill is straightforward: Congress authorizes the Treasury Department to design and create a gold medal with Constance Baker Motley's image and name on it. The medal will be presented to her son, Joel Motley III, and her niece, Constance Royster, with the son ultimately keeping it. The bill also allows the Treasury to make and sell bronze copies of the medal to the public, with any money from those sales going back into the U.S. Mint's budget to help cover the costs of creating the original medal.

This bill doesn't affect most people's daily lives—it's not changing laws or creating new programs. It's simply a formal congressional recognition of an important historical figure's legacy and contributions to American civil rights.

Congressional Tribute to Constance Baker Motley Act of 2023

DeLauro, Rosa L.

Congressional Tribute to Constance Baker Motley Act of 2023 This bill provides for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to Constance Baker Motley in recognition of her contributions and service to the United States in advancing civil rights as an attorney, elected official, and judge.