I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 194 
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 
JANUARY 7, 2015 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Medgar Wiley Evers 
Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
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(1) An integral part of the fight for racial 
equality, Medgar Wiley Evers, was born July 2, 
1925, in Decatur, Mississippi, to James and Jessie 
Evers. 
(2) Faithfully serving his country, Medgar 
Evers willingly left high school to join the Army at 
the start of World War II. 
(3) After the conclusion of the war, Mr. Evers 
returned home to Mississippi, completed high school, 
enrolled in Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical Col-
lege (presently known as Alcorn State University) 
and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business 
Administration. 
(4) While at Alcorn State University, Medgar 
Evers met and married fellow Alcorn student, Myrlie 
Beasley, of Vicksburg, Mississippi. 
(5) Upon graduation, Myrlie and Medgar Evers 
moved to Mound Bayou, Mississippi, where Medgar 
held a job with Magnolia Mutual Life Insurance 
Company, and began establishing local chapters of 
the National Association for the Advancement of 
Colored People (‘‘NAACP’’) throughout the Mis-
sissippi Delta. 
(6) Having been so moved by the immense suf-
fering of African-Americans in Mississippi, Medgar 
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Evers felt compelled to fight to change the cir-
cumstances and challenges facing them and, in 
1954, Medgar Evers became the first known Afri-
can-American to apply to the University of Mis-
sissippi School of Law. Mr. Evers was denied enroll-
ment. 
(7) In 1954, Medgar Evers became the first 
Field Secretary for the Mississippi chapter of the 
NAACP. 
(8) In the capacities of his new position Medgar 
Evers hosted numerous voter registration efforts in 
Mississippi and, as a result of these activities, re-
ceived numerous threats against his life. 
(9) Despite these threats, Mr. Evers carried on 
his work with dedication and courage, organizing 
rallies, building membership within the NAACP, and 
traveling around the country educating the public on 
the fight for Civil Rights. 
(10) Medgar and Myrlie Evers’ passion for 
quality education for all children led them to file suit 
against the Jackson, Mississippi, public school sys-
tem gaining him attention with the national media 
as a leader of the Civil Rights Movement in Mis-
sissippi. 
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(11) As a result of his continued and ongoing 
efforts—rallies, sit-ins, and protests—to stand up 
for the rights of African-Americans in Mississippi, 
Mr. Evers was arrested, beaten, and jailed with his 
due process rights denied. 
(12) The senseless and abhorrent violence 
against Mr. Evers reached its pinnacle on June 12, 
1963, when he was violently shot in front of his 
home and died shortly afterwards in a local hospital, 
mere hours after President John F. Kennedy had 
made a national televised speech from the Oval Of-
fice calling for full racial integration in America. 
The Civil Rights Act was enacted the following year. 
(13) As a veteran, Evers was buried with full 
military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. 
(14) On June 23, 1963, Byron De La 
Beckwith, a member of the White Citizens’ Council, 
was arrested for Evers’ murder, but juries in 1964, 
composed solely of White men, twice deadlocked on 
De La Beckwith’s guilt, resulting in mistrials. 
(15) Following two trials resulting in acquittal, 
in 1990, Mrs. Evers convinced Mississippi prosecu-
tors to reopen Medgar Evers’ murder case, and a 
new trial led to the conviction and life imprisonment 
of Medgar Evers’ killer in 1994. 
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