[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5282 Introduced in House (IH)]
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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:
(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 College (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 Mississippi Delta.
(6) Having been so moved by the immense suffering of
African-Americans in Mississippi, Medgar Evers felt compelled
to fight to change the circumstances and challenges facing them
and, in 1954, Medgar Evers became the first known African-
American to apply to the University of Mississippi School of
Law. Mr. Evers was denied enrollment.
(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, received 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 system gaining him attention with
the national media as a leader of the Civil Rights Movement in
Mississippi.
(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 Office 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 prosecutors to reopen Medgar
Evers' murder case, and a new trial led to the conviction and
life imprisonment of Medgar Evers' killer in 1994.
(16) It is befitting that Congress bestow the highest
civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, to Medgar Wiley
Evers, posthumously in honor of his work on behalf of racial
equality which tragically led to his assassination, but also
was a major catalyst in passage and enactment of the Civil
Rights Act in 1964.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make
appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of
the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration of
Medgar Wiley Evers, in recognition of his contributions and ultimate
sacrifice in the fight for racial equality in the United States.
(b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation referred
to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in
this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with suitable
emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
(c) Award of Medal.--Following the award of the gold medal in
commemoration of Medgar Wiley Evers under subsection (a), the medal
shall be given to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, where it shall
be available for display or temporary loan to be displayed elsewhere,
as appropriate.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold
medal struck pursuant to section 3 under such regulations as the
Secretary may prescribe, at a price sufficient to cover the cost
thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses, and the cost of the gold medal.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
(a) National Medals.--The medals struck pursuant to this Act are
national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States
Code.
(b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of title 31,
United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be
considered to be numismatic items.
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