A concurrent resolution was introduced in the House Aug. 2 by Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Oklahoma, seeking to reserve Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center for the Sept. 18 presentation of five congressional gold medals recognizing achievements of the African-American women associated with NASA’s fledgling space programs at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia.

The Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act authorizing the gold medals — Public Law 116-68 — was signed into law Nov. 9, 2019, by then President Donald J. Trump. The law calls for:
➤ One gold medal to Katherine Johnson in recognition of her service to the United States as a mathematician.
➤ One gold medal to Dr. Christine Darden for her service to the United States as an aeronautical engineer.

And in recognition of their service to the United States during the space race, the law calls for:
➤ One gold medal commemorating the life of Dorothy Vaughan.
➤ One gold medal commemorating the life of Mary Jackson.
➤ One gold medal in recognition of all women who served as computers, mathematicians, and engineers at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration between the 1930s and the 1970s.

After presentation, the Vaughan and general recognition medals will be forwarded to the Smithsonian Institution for display and research. The U.S. Mint will offer for sale bronze duplicates of all the gold medals.

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