I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2130 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Myrlie Evers-Williams, in recognition 

of the great contributions and ultimate sacrifice she and her husband, 

the assassinated civil rights leader Medgar Wiley Evers, made in the 

fight for racial equality in the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 25, 2017 

Mr. HARPER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to Myrlie Evers-Williams, in recognition of the great contributions and ultimate sacrifice she and her husband, the assassinated 

civil rights leader Medgar Wiley Evers, made in the 

fight for racial equality in the United States. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Civil Rights Legacy 

5 of Medgar Wiley Evers Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) An integral part of the fight for racial 

2 equality, Medgar Wiley Evers, was born July 2, 

3 1925, in Decatur, Mississippi, to James and Jessie 

4 Evers. 

5 (2) Faithfully serving his country, Medgar 

6 Evers willingly left high school to join the Army at 

7 the start of World War II. 

8 (3) After the conclusion of the war, Mr. Evers 

9 returned home to Mississippi, completed high school, 

10 enrolled in Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical Col11 lege (presently known as Alcorn State University) 

12 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business 

13 Administration. 

14 (4) While at Alcorn State University, Medgar 

15 Evers met and married fellow Alcorn student, Myrlie 

16 Beasley, of Vicksburg, Mississippi. 

17 (5) Upon graduation, Myrlie and Medgar Evers 

18 moved to Mound Bayou, Mississippi, where Medgar 

19 held a job with Magnolia Mutual Life Insurance 

20 Company, and began establishing local chapters of 

21 the National Association for the Advancement of 

22 Colored People (‘‘NAACP’’) throughout the Mis23 sissippi Delta. 

24 (6) Having been so moved by the immense suf25 fering of African-Americans in Mississippi, Medgar 


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1 Evers felt compelled to fight to change the cir2 cumstances and challenges facing them and, in 

3 1954, Medgar Evers became the first known Afri4 can-American to apply to the University of Mis5 sissippi School of Law. Mr. Evers was denied enroll6 ment. 

7 (7) In 1954, Medgar Evers became the first 

8 Field Secretary for the Mississippi chapter of the 

9 NAACP. 

10 (8) In the capacities of his new position, 

11 Medgar Evers hosted numerous voter registration ef12 forts in Mississippi and, as a result of these activi13 ties, received numerous threats against his life. 

14 (9) Despite these threats, Mr. Evers carried on 

15 his work with dedication and courage, organizing 

16 rallies, building membership within the NAACP, and 

17 traveling around the country educating the public on 

18 the fight for Civil Rights. 

19 (10) Medgar and Myrlie Evers’ passion for 

20 quality education for all children led them to file suit 

21 against the Jackson, Mississippi, public school sys22 tem gaining him attention with the national media 

23 as a leader of the Civil Rights Movement in Mis24 sissippi. 


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1 (11) As a result of his continued and ongoing 

2 efforts—rallies, sit-ins, and protests—to stand up 

3 for the rights of African-Americans in Mississippi, 

4 Mr. Evers was arrested, beaten, and jailed with his 

5 due process rights denied. 

6 (12) The senseless and abhorrent violence 

7 against Mr. Evers reached its pinnacle on June 12, 

8 1963, when he was violently shot in front of his 

9 home and died shortly afterwards in a local hospital, 

10 mere hours after President John F. Kennedy had 

11 made a national televised speech from the Oval Of12 fice calling for full racial integration in America. 

13 The Civil Rights Act was enacted the following year. 

14 (13) As a veteran, Evers was buried with full 

15 military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. 

16 (14) On June 23, 1963, Byron De La Beck17 with, a member of the White Citizens’ Council, was 

18 arrested for Evers’ murder, but juries in 1964, com19 posed solely of White men, twice deadlocked on De 

20 La Beckwith’s guilt, resulting in mistrials. 

21 (15) Following two trials resulting in acquittal, 

22 in 1990, Mrs. Evers convinced Mississippi prosecu23 tors to reopen Medgar Evers’ murder case, and a 

24 new trial led to the conviction and life imprisonment 

25 of Medgar Evers’ killer in 1994. 


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1 (16) It is befitting that Congress bestow the 

2 highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold 

3 Medal, to Myrlie in recognition of the great con4 tributions and ultimate sacrifice she and her hus5 band, the assassinated civil rights leader Medgar 

6 Wiley Evers, made in the fight for racial equality, 

7 which tragically led to his assassination, but also 

8 was a major catalyst in passage and enactment of 

9 the Civil Rights Act in 1964. 

10 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

11 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

12 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem13 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

14 for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold 

15 medal of appropriate design to Myrlie Evers-Williams, in 

16 recognition of the great contributions and ultimate sac17 rifice she and her husband, the assassinated civil rights 

18 leader Medgar Wiley Evers, made in the fight for racial 

19 equality in the United States. 

20 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 

21 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

22 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec23 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

24 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec25 retary. 


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1 (c) AWARD OF MEDAL.—Following the award of the 

2 gold medal under subsection (a), the medal shall be given 

3 to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, where it shall be 

4 available for display or temporary loan to be displayed 

5 elsewhere, as appropriate. 

6 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

7 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

8 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 

9 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

10 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 

11 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 

12 and the cost of the gold medal. 

13 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDAL. 

14 (a) NATIONAL MEDAL.—The gold medal struck pur15 suant to this Act is a national medal for purposes of chap16 ter 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

17 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEM.—For purposes of section 

18 5134 of title 31, United States Code, the gold medal 

19 struck under this Act shall be considered to be a numis20 matic item. 

Æ 


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