[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4528 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4528
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Marshall Walter
``Major'' Taylor in recognition of his significance to the nation as an
athlete, trailblazer, role model, and equal rights advocate.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 12, 2024
Mr. Braun (for himself and Mr. Warnock) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Marshall Walter
``Major'' Taylor in recognition of his significance to the nation as an
athlete, trailblazer, role model, and equal rights advocate.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Marshall Walter `Major' Taylor
Congressional Gold Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Marshall Walter ``Major'' Taylor was born in
Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 26, 1878, to Black parents
who likely had been enslaved in Kentucky, and died impoverished
on June 21, 1932, in a hospital charity ward in Chicago,
Illinois.
(2) As a child, Taylor spent considerable time at the home
of a wealthy White family in Indianapolis who employed his
father as a coachman, treated the Black youngster as an equal
to their son, Daniel Southard, and gave Taylor his first
bicycle.
(3) Taylor acquired the nickname ``Major'' in his youth
when he performed bicycle tricks outside his workplace, the Hay
& Willits bike shop in Indianapolis, while wearing a military-
style jacket, and he won his first bike race in 1890 at age 11.
(4) Taylor moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, with his
employer, mentor, and racing manager, Louis D. ``Birdie''
Munger, in 1895, and became known in his sport not only for his
lightning sprints but also for his good sportsmanship,
disciplined physical training, and devotion to his religion.
(5) Taylor received a professional racing license from the
League of American Wheelmen at age 18 despite the League's 1894
``whites only'' rule for amateur membership and made his
professional debut in December 1896 in a 6-day race at Madison
Square Garden in New York, New York, defeating national
champion Eddie Bald in a half-mile exhibition race on the eve
of the 6-day endurance contest and placing eighth in the 6-day
track cycling competition.
(6) In 1897, Taylor earned a spot alongside 4 White men on
one of the first racially integrated professional sports teams
in the United States, a 5-man squad that won a Boston v.
Philadelphia pursuit race held in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
(7) Taylor set numerous world speed records and held 7
world records at the end of 1898 for various distances,
including the coveted 1 mile, and he further lowered the 1-mile
world record to 1 minute, 19 seconds in 1899.
(8) Taylor overcame racial prejudice throughout his career,
showing remarkable dignity in the face of closed doors and open
hostility, including race-based denial of meals and lodging,
racist cartoons and caricatures, bureaucratic maneuvers that
threatened his racing eligibility, race-based exclusion from
certain tracks and competitions on the national circuit, plots
and tactics by White opponents to box him in on the track,
cause him to crash, or prevent him from competing in the first
place, a post-race choking by a competitor on a racetrack in
Taunton, Massachusetts, that left Taylor unconscious,
objections by White neighbors to his purchase of a house in
Worcester, and a death threat signed ``White Riders'' that was
delivered in Savannah, Georgia.
(9) Taylor was one of the first Black athletes to secure
corporate sponsorship, representing bicycle brands such as Iver
Johnson, Sager, Stearns, and Orient, and he became one of the
wealthiest Black men in the United States and a substantial
benefactor to his church in Worcester.
(10) Taylor pioneered the use of an innovative adjustable
handlebar stem, using the extension to improve his aerodynamic
position, and to this day this type of outrigger is called a
Major Taylor stem.
(11) Taylor won the world 1-mile sprint championship in
Montreal on August 10, 1899, becoming the second Black athlete
to win a world title in any sport, and won the United States
championship later that year.
(12) As a devout Christian, Taylor refused for years to
race on Sundays, and accordingly he turned down lucrative
offers to race in Europe, until, by virtue of his international
superstardom, he could negotiate a ``no Sundays'' provision in
a European racing contract for 1901.
(13) Finding refuge in France, where he was still often the
only Black racer on the track, Taylor defeated every European
champion during the course of 6 tours of Europe from 1901 to
1909 and also had numerous racing successes in Australia and
New Zealand.
(14) After retiring from racing in 1910 and finding little
success in the business world, Taylor wrote his 1928
autobiography, ``The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World'', with
an appeal for ``simple justice, equal rights, and a square
deal'' for African Americans in sports and ``every . . . human
endeavor'', as well as advice for youth on good sportsmanship
and clean living.
(15) Drawing on exemplary determination and perseverance,
Taylor demonstrated not only dominant athletic prowess but also
tremendous strength of character as he broke racial barriers,
reached the pinnacle of international sport, and served as a
role model for generations to come.
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
the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration of
Marshall Walter ``Major'' Taylor, in recognition of his significance to
the nation as an athlete, trailblazer, role model, and equal rights
advocate.
(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 an inscription of the name of
Marshall Walter ``Major'' Taylor.
(c) Disposition of Medal.--Following the presentation of the gold
medal under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the great-
granddaughter of Marshall Walter ``Major'' Taylor, Karen Donovan.
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 cost
thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
(a) National Medals.--The 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 sections 5134 and 5136 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.
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