II
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION S. 734
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Edward J. Dwight, Jr., the first
African American astronaut candidate in the United States.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY25, 2025
Mr. B
ENNET(for himself, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, and Mr. KING)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
A BILL
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Edward J. Dwight,
Jr., the first African American astronaut candidate in
the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Edward J. Dwight, 4
Jr. Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2025’’. 5
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6
Congress finds the following: 7
(1) Edward Joseph Dwight, Jr., was born on 8
September 9, 1933, to Georgia Baker Dwight and 9
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Mar 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S734.IS S734
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2
•S 734 IS
Edward Dwight, Sr., in Kansas City, Kansas. Ed 1
Senior had been a second baseman and center fielder 2
for the Kansas City Monarchs and played on other 3
all-Black teams from 1924 to 1937. Georgia was a 4
devoted mother who enrolled her son in a Head 5
Start type program at the age of 2 and made sure 6
to expose her children to as much culture as she 7
could. 8
(2) Edward Joseph Dwight, Jr., grew up with 9
a passion for art and airplanes. 10
(3) Edward became the first African American 11
male to graduate from Bishop Ward Catholic High 12
School in 1951. He then earned an associate degree 13
in engineering in 1953 from Kansas City Junior 14
College. That same year he left to join the Air Force 15
and began flight training. 16
(4) After completing flight training, he served 17
as a military pilot and obtained a degree in aero-18
nautical engineering from Arizona State University. 19
During his career as an officer in the Air Force, Ed-20
ward served at bases in Texas, Missouri, and Ari-21
zona, developing technical manuals and training fel-22
low pilots on various instruments, as he accumulated 23
flight hours. 24
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Mar 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S734.IS S734
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3
•S 734 IS
(5) Edward recalled, ‘‘I was the only Black offi-1
cer pilot just about every base I was stationed’’ and 2
that even at 5’4’’, he ‘‘got award after award’’. 3
While in the Air Force, Edward earned his Bachelor 4
of Science in aeronautical engineering from Arizona 5
State University in 1957. 6
(6) Edward flew some of the most advanced 7
aircraft of the era and ultimately accumulated over 8
9,000 hours of flight time, 2,000 in high-perform-9
ance jets. His engineering background and extensive 10
training opened the door for him to enter the test 11
pilot school where the most successful trainees be-12
come astronauts. 13
(7) Edward was chosen by President John F. 14
Kennedy to enter training as an experimental test 15
pilot. The Kennedy administration knew that a 16
Black astronaut would be an inspiring display of op-17
portunity for African Americans across the country. 18
(8) On November 4, 1961, Edward received a 19
letter inviting him to join the astronaut training pro-20
gram. He followed the advice of his mother and ac-21
cepted the invitation to take the first steps toward 22
improving diversity and talent in the United States 23
space program by becoming the first African Amer-24
ican astronaut candidate in the United States. 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Mar 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S734.IS S734
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4
•S 734 IS
(9) Edward went to the Aerospace Research 1
Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in Cali-2
fornia to begin training. 3
(10) This was a time of uncertainty where the 4
color of a person’s skin mattered more than his or 5
her skill. 6
(11) The astronaut candidacy of Edwards be-7
came cover news on Black magazines such as Jet, 8
Ebony, and Sepia. 9
(12) At Edwards Air Force Base, however, Ed-10
ward experienced prejudice and scorn, as he re-11
counted in his autobiography ‘‘Soaring on the Wings 12
of a Dream: The Untold Story of America’s First 13
Black Astronaut Candidate’’. 14
(13) Edward completed the experimental test 15
pilot course and entered aerospace research pilot 16
training in preparation for astronaut duties. He suc-17
cessfully completed the course and continued to per-18
form duties as a fully qualified aerospace research 19
pilot. 20
(14) On October 18, 1963, the National Aero-21
nautics and Space Administration (referred to in 22
this section as ‘‘NASA’’) announced 14 astronauts 23
for Group 3, but Edward did not make the list. 24
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Mar 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S734.IS S734
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5
•S 734 IS
(15) While in training, Edward faced obstacles 1
due to his race, which derailed his chance to be the 2
first African American in space. His fight for equal-3
ity was one of many trailblazing battles happening 4
during the Civil Rights Era. 5
(16) The assassination of President Kennedy, 6
the main sponsor in the White House of Edward 7
and the space journey, led to his voluntary separa-8
tion from the Air Force. 9
(17) In 1966, Edward resigned from the Air 10
Force as a captain and moved to Denver, Colorado. 11
(18) After the Kennedy assassination, pressure 12
on NASA to fly a Black astronaut waned, and the 13
first African American would not fly in space until 14
Guion Bluford flew with the crew of NASA’s eighth 15
space flight on the Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger 16
in 1983. 17
(19) After successful careers in the Air Force, 18
and as an IBM systems engineer, restauranteur, 19
aviation consultant, real estate, and construction en-20
trepreneur, Edward dedicated 43 years solely to his 21
artistic endeavors. 22
(20) In 1974, George Brown, the first African 23
American lieutenant governor of Colorado and a 24
member of the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II, 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Mar 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S734.IS S734
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6
•S 734 IS
chose Edward to create a bronze bust of him to dis-1
play in the Colorado State Capitol. 2
(21) Being a neophyte to bronze sculpting, and 3
at the age of 42, Edward enrolled at the University 4
of Denver in the Masters of Fine Arts program. 5
While at the University of Denver, he became pro-6
ficient in metal casting and managed the foundry at 7
the school while also teaching other students. He re-8
ceived his Master of Fine Arts in 1977. 9
(22) In 1975, while at the University of Den-10
ver, Edward received a commission from the Colo-11
rado Centennial Commission to create a series of 12
bronzes depicting the contribution of Blacks to the 13
American Frontier West. The series exhibited for 14
several years throughout the United States, gaining 15
widespread acceptance and critical acclaim. 16
(23) In 1979, the National Park Service en-17
couraged Edward to create a bronze series por-18
traying the history and historical roots of jazz. The 19
series was created and entitled ‘‘Jazz: An American 20
Art Form’’, which consisted of over 70 bronzes de-21
picting the evolution of jazz from its African origins 22
to the fusion of contemporary music. 23
(24) Since his art career began in 1976, Ed-24
ward has become one of most prolific and insightful 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Mar 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S734.IS S734
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7
•S 734 IS
sculptors in the United States. As of the date of en-1
actment of this Act, Edward has completed more 2
than 115 large-scale commissioned sculpture instal-3
lations. His pieces are collected by museums, institu-4
tions and art enthusiasts around the world, includ-5
ing the Smithsonian. Ed Dwight Studios, Inc., in 6
Denver, is now one of the largest privately owned 7
production facilities in the western United States. 8
(25) Edward is the recipient of numerable liv-9
ing legends awards from around the country for his 10
achievements in space activities and contributions in 11
art and Black history. 12
(26) On August 5, 2020, in recognition of his 13
accomplishments as a scientist, test pilot, and sculp-14
tor, the Space Force inducted him as an honorary 15
member. A permanent display is installed at the 16
Pentagon in honor of these achievements. 17
(27) In a ceremony at the Pentagon, General 18
Jay Raymond, Chief of Space Operations of the 19
Space Force, presented Edward with the Com-20
mander’s Public Service Award and inducted him as 21
an honorary member of the Space Force, for his 22
contributions to the United States, space, and his-23
tory during times of overt racism in the field of 24
science. Astronaut Victor Glover honored Edward by 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Mar 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S734.IS S734
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8
•S 734 IS
carrying this award with him to the International 1
Space Station during his Crew-1 mission. Despite all 2
that he had to overcome, Edward was an example of 3
excellence, embarking on a nationwide speaking tour 4
encouraging young people to study science, engineer-5
ing, and math. 6
(28) In 2021, the Minor Planet Center, an or-7
ganization affiliated with the International Astro-8
nomical Union, named an asteroid after Edward. 9
NASA has honored him by sending his sculpture 10
‘‘Pioneer Woman’’ to space on Exploration Flight 11
Test-1 in 2014. 12
(29) On November 3, 2022, Denver Inter-13
national Airport opened an exhibit titled ‘‘Soaring 14
on the Wings of a Dream,’’ the title of Edward’s 15
book. The exhibit is on the life of Edward, beginning 16
with childhood and ending with adulthood. It will be 17
on display for 5 months. 18
(30) The National Geographic documentary, 19
‘‘The Space Race’’, weaves together the stories of 20
Black astronauts seeking to break the bonds of so-21
cial injustice to reach for the stars, including Ed-22
ward, Guion Bluford, Charles Bolden, Mae C. 23
Jemison, Victor Glover, among many others, includ-24
ing Leland Melvin, one of the producers of the film. 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Mar 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S734.IS S734
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9
•S 734 IS
(31) On May 19, 2024, Edward, sponsored by 1
Space for Humanity, finally traveled to space as 1 2
of 6 individuals aboard the Blue Origin New 3
Shepard rocket, which launched from a private site 4
near Van Horn, Texas. At 90 years old, Edward be-5
came the oldest person to go to space. 6
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 7
(a) P
RESENTATIONAUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 8
the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-9
pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 10
for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a single 11
gold medal of appropriate design to Edward J. Dwight, 12
the first African-American astronaut candidate in the 13
United States, in recognition of— 14
(1) his historic service to the United States; 15
(2) the example of excellence during times of 16
struggle and overt racism; and 17
(3) his contributions in art and Black history. 18
(b) D
ESIGN ANDSTRIKING.—For purposes of the 19
presentation described in subsection (a), the Secretary of 20
the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 21
shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, 22
and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary. The 23
design shall bear an image of, and an inscription of the 24
name of, Edward J. Dwight, Jr. 25
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Mar 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S734.IS S734
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 10
•S 734 IS
(c) DISPOSITION OFMEDAL.—Following the presen-1
tation described in subsection (a), the gold medal shall be 2
given to Edward J. Dwight, Jr., or, if unavailable, to Cur-3
tis Christopher Dwight. 4
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 5
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 6
bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 7
sufficient to cover the costs thereof, including labor, mate-8
rials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 9
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 10
(a) N
ATIONALMEDALS.—Medals struck under this 11
Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 12
31, United States Code. 13
(b) N
UMISMATICITEMS.—For purposes of sections 14
5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 15
struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 16
items. 17
SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 18
SALE. 19
(a) A
UTHORITYTOUSEFUNDAMOUNTS.—There is 20
authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 21
Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec-22
essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 23
this Act. 24
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Mar 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S734.IS S734
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 11
•S 734 IS
(b) PROCEEDS OFSALE.—Amounts received from the 1
sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 2
4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 3
Enterprise Fund. 4
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Mar 15, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S734.IS S734
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS