The Congressional Tribute to Constance Baker Motley Act of 2025 posthumously awards a congressional gold medal to civil rights pioneer Constance Baker Motley in recognition of her groundbreaking legal and public service career. Motley was a pioneering civil rights attorney who worked alongside Thurgood Marshall at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, argued ten major cases before the Supreme Court (winning all but one), and later became the first African-American woman appointed as a federal judge, serving on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and eventually becoming its Chief Judge. The Treasury Secretary will design and strike the gold medal featuring Motley's image and name, with the medal to be presented to her son, Joel Motley III, and niece, Constance Royster. The bill authorizes the Treasury to charge costs against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund and permits the sale of duplicate bronze medals, with proceeds returned to the fund. This tribute recognizes Motley's enduring contributions to civil rights and her historic service as an elected official and federal judge from the 1960s through the mid-1980s.
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