New Act Honors Civil Rights Icon Constance Baker Motley with Congressional Gold Medal

This legislation, the Congressional Tribute to Constance Baker Motley Act of 2025, is a formal recognition of one of the most important figures in American legal history. The bill’s core action is simple: it authorizes the posthumous award of a Congressional Gold Medal to Constance Baker Motley for her extraordinary service to the nation.

The Legacy Being Honored

Before detailing the award, the bill dedicates a significant section (SEC. 2) to laying out Motley’s incredible accomplishments, essentially making her life story part of the public record for this tribute. For two decades, she was on the front lines of the civil rights movement as a staff attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, working alongside Thurgood Marshall. She was the only woman lawyer on the team that won the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954, which ended school segregation. Think about that: she argued 10 major civil rights cases before the Supreme Court and won nine of them—a record few attorneys, past or present, can touch.

Her barrier-breaking didn't stop there. In 1964, she became the first African-American woman elected to the New York State Senate. Then, in 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed her as a federal judge, making her the first African-American woman ever to hold a federal judgeship. This bill isn't just about giving out a medal; it's Congress officially recognizing the woman who essentially wrote the playbook for civil rights litigation and shattered glass ceilings in politics and the judiciary.

The Gold Medal and Its Journey

Section 3 of the bill details the award itself. The Congressional Gold Medal is one of the highest civilian honors in the U.S., and since Motley passed away in 2005, the presentation will be made posthumously. The bill specifically names her son, Joel Motley III, and her niece, Constance Royster, as the recipients of the medal on behalf of Congress. After the ceremony, the actual gold medal will be given to Joel Motley III to keep.

For those of us who appreciate history and numismatics (coin collecting), the bill also includes a standard provision for making the award accessible to the public. Section 4 authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to create and sell bronze duplicates of the gold medal. This isn't a government fundraising effort; the bill is clear that the sale price must only cover the costs of production—things like the metal, labor, and overhead. All money generated from the sale of these bronze duplicates must be returned directly to the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund (SEC. 6), ensuring the project pays for itself without dipping into general taxpayer funds.