I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5282 

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Medgar Wiley Evers, 

in recognition of his contributions and ultimate sacrifice in the fight 

for racial equality in the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 30, 2014 

Mr. HARPER (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to 

Medgar Wiley Evers, in recognition of his contributions 

and ultimate sacrifice 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 ‘‘Medgar Wiley Evers 

5 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 Medgar 

11 Evers hosted numerous voter registration efforts in 

12 Mississippi and, as a result of these activities, re13 ceived 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 

17 Beckwith, a member of the White Citizens’ Council, 

18 was arrested for Evers’ murder, but juries in 1964, 

19 composed solely of white men, twice deadlocked on 

20 De 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 Medgar Wiley Evers, posthumously in 

4 honor of his work on behalf of racial equality which 

5 tragically led to his assassination, but also was a 

6 major catalyst in passage and enactment of the Civil 

7 Rights Act in 1964. 

8 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

9 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

10 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem11 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

12 for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of the Con13 gress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemo14 ration of Medgar Wiley Evers, in recognition of his con15 tributions and ultimate sacrifice in the fight for racial 

16 equality in the United States. 

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

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

19 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec20 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

21 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec22 retary. 

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

24 gold medal in commemoration of Medgar Wiley Evers 

25 under subsection (a), the medal shall be given to the MisVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:41 Aug 06, 2014 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5282.IH H5282

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1 sissippi Civil Rights Museum, where it shall be available 

2 for display or temporary loan to be displayed elsewhere, 

3 as appropriate. 

4 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

5 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

6 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 

7 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

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

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

10 and the cost of the gold medal. 

11 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

12 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu13 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

14 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

15 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

16 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

17 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

Æ 


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