IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 220
Commending Medgar Wiley Evers and his widow, Myrlie Evers-Williams, 
for their lives and accomplishments. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 12, 2003
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi (for himself and Mr. PICKERING) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Government Reform 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Commending Medgar Wiley Evers and his widow, Myrlie 
Evers-Williams, for their lives and accomplishments.
Whereas a pioneer in the fight for racial justice, Medgar 
Wiley Evers, was born July 2, 1925, in Decatur, Mis-
sissippi, to James and Jessie Evers; 
Whereas, to faithfully serve his country, Medgar Evers left 
high school to join the Army when World War II began 
and, after coming home to Mississippi, he completed high 
school, enrolled in Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical 
College, presently known as Alcorn State University, and 
majored in business administration; 
Whereas, as a student at Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical 
College, Evers was a member of the debate team, the col-
lege choir, and the football and track teams, was the edi-
•HCON 220 IH 
tor of the campus newspaper and the yearbook, and held 
several student offices, which gained him recognition in 
Who’s Who in American Colleges; 
Whereas, while a junior at Alcorn Agricultural and Mechan-
ical College, Evers met a freshman named Myrlie 
Beasley, whom he married on December 24, 1951, and 
with whom he spent the remainder of his life; 
Whereas, after Medgar Evers received a bachelor of arts de-
gree, he moved to historic Mound Bayou, Mississippi, be-
came employed by Magnolia Mutual Life Insurance Com-
pany, and soon began establishing local chapters of the 
National Association for the Advancement of Colored 
People (referred to in this resolution as the ‘‘NAACP’’) 
throughout the Delta region; 
Whereas, moved by the plight of African-Americans in Mis-
sissippi and a desire to change the conditions facing 
them, in 1954, after the United States Supreme Court 
ruled school segregation unconstitutional, Medgar Evers 
became the first known African-American person to apply 
for admission to the University of Mississippi Law 
School, but was denied that admission; 
Whereas, as a result of that denial, Medgar Evers contacted 
the NAACP to take legal action; 
Whereas, in 1954, Medgar Evers was offered a position as 
the Mississippi Field Secretary for the NAACP, and he 
accepted the position, making Myrlie Evers his secretary; 
Whereas, with his wife by his side, Medgar Evers began a 
movement to register people to vote in Mississippi and, 
as a result of his activities, he received numerous threats; 
Whereas, in spite of the threats, Medgar Evers persisted, 
with dedication and courage, to organize rallies, build the
•HCON 220 IH 
NAACP’s membership, and travel around the country 
with Myrlie Evers to educate the public; 
Whereas Medgar Evers’ passion for quality education for all 
children led him to file suit against the Jackson, Mis-
sissippi public schools, which gained him national media 
coverage; 
Whereas Medgar Evers organized students from Tougaloo 
and Campbell Colleges, coordinated and led protest 
marches, organized boycotts of Jackson businesses and 
sit-ins, and challenged segregated bus seating, and for 
these heroic efforts, he was arrested, beaten, and jailed; 
Whereas the violence against Medgar Evers came to a climax 
on June 12, 1963, when he was shot and killed in front 
of his home; 
Whereas, after the fingerprints of an outspoken segrega-
tionist were recovered from the scene of the shooting, and 
2 juries deadlocked without a conviction in the shooting 
case, Myrlie Evers and her 3 children moved to Clare-
mont, California, where she enrolled in Pomona College 
and earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1968; 
Whereas, after Medgar Evers’ death, Myrlie Evers began to 
create her own legacy and emerged as a national catalyst 
for justice and equality by becoming active in politics, be-
coming a founder of the National Women’s Political Cau-
cus, running for Congress in California’s 24th congres-
sional district, serving as Commissioner of Public Works 
for Los Angeles, using her writing skills to serve as a 
correspondent for Ladies Home Journal and to cover the 
Paris Peace Talks, and rising to prominence as Director 
of Consumer Affairs for the Atlantic Richfield Company;
•HCON 220 IH 
Whereas Myrlie Evers became Myrlie Evers-Williams when 
she married Walter Williams in 1976; 
Whereas, in the 1990’s, Evers-Williams convinced Mississippi 
prosecutors to reopen Medgar Evers’ murder case, and 
the reopening of the case led to the conviction and life 
imprisonment of Medgar Evers’ killer; 
Whereas Evers-Williams became the first female to chair the 
64-member Board of Directors of the NAACP, to provide 
guidance to an organization that was dear to Medgar 
Evers’ heart; 
Whereas Evers-Williams has published her memoirs, entitled 
‘‘Watch Me Fly: What I Learned on the Way to Becom-
ing the Woman I Was Meant to Be’’, to enlighten the 
world about the struggles that plagued her life as the 
wife of an activist and empowered her to become a com-
munity leader; 
Whereas Evers-Williams is widely known as a motivational 
lecturer and continues to speak out against discrimina-
tion and injustice; 
Whereas her latest endeavor has brought her home to Mis-
sissippi to make two remarkable contributions, through 
the establishment of the Evers Collection and the Medgar 
Evers Institute, which advance the knowledge and cause 
of social injustice and which encompass the many lessons 
in the life’s work of Medgar Evers and Myrlie Evers-Wil-
liams; 
Whereas Evers-Williams has presented the extraordinary pa-
pers in that Collection and Institute to the Mississippi 
Department of Archives and History, where the papers 
are being preserved and catalogued; and
•HCON 220 IH 
Whereas it is the policy of Congress to recognize and pay 
tribute to the lives and accomplishments of extraordinary 
Mississippians such as Medgar Evers and Myrlie Evers-
Williams, whose life sacrifices have contributed to the 
betterment of the lives of the citizens of Mississippi as 
well as the United States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That—
(1) Congress commends Medgar Wiley Evers 
and his widow, Myrlie Evers-Williams, and expresses 
the greatest respect and gratitude of Congress, for 
their lives and accomplishments; 
(2) Congress supports the establishment of a 
‘‘Medgar Evers National Week of Remembrance’’; 
and 
(3) copies of this resolution shall be furnished 
to the family of Medgar Wiley Evers and Myrlie 
Evers-Williams.
Æ