Jackie Robinson 1997 $ 5 Gold Coin
Designers: William Cousins( obverse) and Jim Peed( reverse)
Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball when he was recruited to play second base for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He not only integrated American baseball, but he used his notoriety to fight for equal rights for Black people. In 1962, Robinson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Rosa Parks 1999 Bronze Medal
Designers: Al Maletsky( obverse) and John Mercanti( reverse)
Rosa Parks was a civil rights icon whose refusal to give up her seat to a white person and move to the back of the bus fueled the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the fight against Jim Crow segregation and the national Civil Rights Movement. Parks was a life-long activist who fought for justice and against racism and discrimination. Her contributions are also celebrated by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Commemorative Silver Dollar coin.
Brown v. Board of Education 2004 Bronze Medal
Designers: Charles L. Vickers( obverse) and Donna Weaver( reverse)
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, was a US Supreme Court ruling that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson as unconstitutional, as its separate but equal doctrine denied Black students the equal protection under the law and due process of law guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. This was a consolidated ruling of five cases from the states of Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia that were appealed to the US Supreme Court. These cases were brought by the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and argued in state courts by Thurgood Marshall. The ruling was a unanimous decision written by Chief Justice Earl Warren.
Dr. Dorothy Height 2004 Bronze Medal
Designers: Donna Weaver( obverse) and John Mercanti( reverse)
The National Council of Negro Women( NCNW) national headquarters building is named after Dorothy I. Height, who led the NCNW as president for 40 years. In this capacity, Height became one of the most important civil rights leaders in the country. As the only female member of the Council for United Civil Rights leadership, she worked alongside the“ Big Six” civil rights leaders and was one of the organizers of the March on Washington.
22 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Winter 2017 | www. MoAF. org