H.R. 1432House109th Congress (2005-2007)In Committee

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., $1 Coin Act

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to redesign the $1 coin to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Legislative Activity

Stay on top of the latest movement without scrolling through every action

2 earlier actions

HouseCommittee Latest Action

Referred to the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology.

April 15, 2005

View full timeline

HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

March 17, 2005

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Financial Services Committee

March 17, 2005

HouseCommittee

Referred to the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology.

April 15, 2005

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about H.R. 1432 on the floor

1 Democrat

Rep. Charles B. RangelD-NY-15 · Oct 6, 2005

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to invite Congress to join me in cosponsoring H.R. 1432 to require the Secretary of the Treasury to redesign the $1 coin to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin…

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to invite Congress to join me in cosponsoring

H.R. 1432 to require the Secretary of the Treasury to redesign the $1 coin to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On December 5, 1955, after civil rights activist Rosa Parks refused to observe the segregation policy on buses, the residents of Montgomery, Alabama launched a bus boycott. The success of the boycott which desegregated the city bus system propelled Dr. King into national prominence. He organized and led strategic marches, protests and demonstrations for blacks' right to vote, desegregation, fair hiring practices and other basic civil rights. He led these marches under the philosophy of non-violence and civil disobedience, which gained national and international media attention. Through his influence, the world began to see first hand the inhumanity of segregation.

It wasn't until his 1963 ``I have a dream'' speech during the March on Washington, did America begin to see Dr. King as a prophetic visionary. The eloquence and optimism of his speech and vision truly inspired the collective conscience of the American public. As his message began to spread, the Nation began to change. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 became manifestations of the dreams and hopes of equality and justice for all that Dr. King so effectively represented.

Although Dr. King, once Time Magazine's ``Man of the Year 1963'' and the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize was quickly and violently taken from us, his dream still lives on. He had insight into a reality that was not yet this world's reality. Peace on Earth and goodwill towards all was not yet this world's reality. But he believed that it could be; that it ought to be. His philosophy of nonviolent direct action, and his strategies for national and non-destructive social change, galvanized the conscience of this Nation and reordered its priorities. His wisdom, his words, his actions, his commitment, and his dream for a new way of life of equality and justice for all have been intertwined with the American experience.

There is no man more deserving to have their image engraved on the face of the $1 coin than, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Not only would this be a national recognition of his many contributions to American history, but it would be a constant reminder that we have not yet fulfilled the dream, Peace on Earth and good will to all men, and equality and justice for all.

Bill Text

Latest available legislative text

Reading Mode

Raw Text PDF XML

Introduced in HouseIssued March 17, 2005

109th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 1432

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 17, 2005

Mr. Rangel introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

A BILL

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to redesign the $1 coin to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Short title and findings

(a)

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., $1 Coin Act.

(b)

Findings

The Congress finds the following:

(1)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a preeminent spokesman for human civil rights in his time.

(2)

The work of Dr. King affected the lives of more Americans of all races and people around the world than any other American reform leader of the 20th century.

(3)

Dr. King was one of America’s most erudite scholars and social and religious activists.

(4)

Dr. King, because of his lifelong achievements and moral vision, was a recipient in 1964 of the Nobel Peace Prize.

(5)

Dr. King mobilized leaders of all faiths, races, and creeds to support the passage of the historic civil rights laws in the 1960s.

(6)

Dr. King inspired activists for human rights around the world by applying a philosophy of non-violence.

(7)

Dr. King helped to mobilize the African-American civil rights movement as a founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

(8)

Dr. King has been honored by the Nation with the designation of the third Monday in January as a national holiday in his name.

(9)

The largest collection of materials relating to Dr. King is in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, Georgia.

Redesign of $1 coin to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Section 5112(d)(1) of title 31, United States Code, is amended—

(1)

by striking the 6th sentence and inserting the following: The obverse side of the dollar shall have the likeness of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The reverse side of the dollar shall have a design emblematic of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and

(2)

in the 4th sentence, by striking dollar, half dollar, and quarter dollar and inserting half dollar and quarter dollar.