Prince to Be Considered for Congressional Gold Medal

On Monday, Minnesota’s Congressional delegation introduced a resolution to posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to the Purple One himself, the artist forever known as Prince.

According to the AP, the award is one of the nation’s highest civilian honors. The Purple Rain singer is being considered for the award due to his “indelible mark on Minnesota and American culture.” The resolution is being presented by the state’s Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar.

“Prince is a Minnesota icon,” said Rep. Omar in a statement. “He showed that it was OK to be a short, Black kid from Minneapolis and still change the world. He not only changed the arc of music history; he put Minneapolis on the map.”

Added Sen. Klobuchar: “The world is a whole lot cooler because Prince was in it—he touched our hearts, opened our minds, and made us want to dance. With this legislation, we honor his memory and contributions as a composer, performer, and music innovator. Purple reigns in Minnesota today and every day because of him.”

Previous recipients of the award include Rosa Parks, the Tuskegee Airmen, Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama and more. The resolution must be approved by at least two-thirds of the members of both the Senate and House of Representatives before it’s signed into law by President Biden.

Following the approval and ultimate sign-off by the president, the gold medal is set to be given to the Smithsonian Institution, making it potentially available for display at the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington D.C.—or, at the very least, on loan.

The Purple One’s impact lives on; last week, we told you the Prince estate released an unheard demo of “Do Me Baby” that was originally recorded in 1978. Back in July, the first posthumous Prince album was released to fans, titled Welcome 2 America.