To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Prince Hall, in recognition of his service to the Black Community as the founder of the first Black Masonic lodge.
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Committee
Latest Action · August 9, 2024
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
This bill awards a Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to Prince Hall, an 18th-century free Black man from Boston who founded African Lodge #1 in 1775 after being rejected by an all-white Masonic lodge. Prince Hall is recognized as the founder of Black Freemasonry and used his organization to advocate for abolition, citizenship rights, and economic advancement for African Americans, including petitioning the Massachusetts government in 1777 to end slavery. The Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate will arrange for the medal's design and striking by the Secretary of the Treasury, with the finished medal displayed at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Treasury Secretary may also produce and sell duplicate bronze medals to cover production costs, with proceeds returned to the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund. The bill has no specific appropriation amount since costs will be charged to the existing U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
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