Congress honors enslaved Africans with historic gold medal
H.R. 4885 — The original legislation awarding a historic Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to Africans and their descendants enslaved within our country from August 20, 1619, to December 6, 1865 · Filed by Al Green (D-TX) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Aug 5, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill authorizes Congress to award a historic gold medal collectively to Africans and their descendants who were enslaved in the United States from 1619 to 1865, in recognition of their forced labor's foundational role in building American economic wealth. The medal will be designed by the Secretary of the Treasury, displayed at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African-American History & Culture, and the government may sell bronze duplicates to recover costs.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole function is to authorize a commemorative gold medal honoring enslaved persons and acknowledging slavery's role in American economic development. It is a symbolic and educational measure, not a policy or regulatory change.
What the text implies
- The bill's extensive findings section (detailing slavery's economic value at $5.9–$14.2 trillion in 2009 dollars) may establish legislative record supporting future reparations discussions or litigation, though the bill itself makes no reparative claim.
- Placement at the National Museum of African-American History & Culture ensures the medal becomes a permanent educational artifact, potentially amplifying its symbolic weight beyond a typical congressional honor.
Who it affects
This is a commemorative and historical-accountability measure that honors victims of slavery and acknowledges a foundational injustice in American history. It carries no direct financial cost to citizens (duplicate sales offset medal production) and serves a public interest in historical recognition and education.
Named in the bill
U.S. Mint, Secretary of the Treasury, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African-American History & Culture, House Committee on the Budget
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Democrats.
- Aug 5, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Aug 5, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Budget and House Committee on House Administration · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $40,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 10 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Al Green, the sponsor, reported $72,500 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- University of New Hampshire — $40,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 15, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the full bill text on Jun 11, 2026; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 15, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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