Arturo Alfonso Schomburg Congressional Gold Medal Act

This bill would award a Congressional Gold Medal to Arturo Alfonso Schomburg for his lifelong work collecting and preserving Black history and the history of the African diaspora. It highlights his journey from Puerto Rico to New York, his influence during the Harlem Renaissance, and how his vast collection—later forming the core of the Schomburg Center in Harlem—grew to millions of items and inspired generations of scholars and artists.

The medal would be kept at the National Museum of African American History and Culture so visitors can see it and researchers can access it. The Smithsonian is encouraged to share it at other places connected to Schomburg. The U.S. Mint would design and strike the medal, and may sell bronze copies to cover costs, with proceeds going back to the Mint’s fund. The medals are treated as national medals and as numismatic items.

• Who is affected: Museum visitors, students, teachers, and researchers who want to learn about Black history.
• What changes: A new gold medal honoring Schomburg; the medal displayed at the Smithsonian; bronze copies may be sold to fund costs.
• When: After the bill becomes law, the Treasury would create the medal and transfer it to the museum for display and research.