Medgar Evers Home National Monument Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for being so kind in yielding.
Mr. Speaker, today the House will consider H.R. 4895, the Medgar Evers Home National Monument Act, a bipartisan bill to designate the home of civil rights leader Medgar Evers as a national monument.
Located in Jackson, Mississippi, the Evers family home, which was designated a national historic landmark in 2017, is hallowed ground for those of us who lived through the struggle for racial equality and desegregation.
That single-story ranch-style house bore witness to one of the most consequential moments in the civil rights era: the assassination of Medgar Wiley Evers, a son of Mississippi, who was assassinated in his driveway by those who saw his efforts at making America a more perfect and just Union as a threat.
Through his work for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Medgar Evers earned an indelible place in the annals of American history and the civil rights movement. Mr. Evers was a hero for change, resistance, and equal rights for African-American citizens in this country.
Mr. Speaker, I am honored to, in my capacity as a Congressman of the Second Congressional District of Mississippi, author this legislation to honor the sacrifice of not just civil rights icon Medgar Evers, but his widow, Myrlie, by designating their home as a national monument.
Medgar Evers had a vision to defeat injustice for African Americans in the State of Mississippi as well as throughout the United States. Born in Decatur, Mississippi, Mr. Evers lived through the Jim Crow South and wrangled with the overwhelming plight of racial discrimination head-on.
Mr. Evers was a 1952 graduate of what is now known as Alcorn State University, a great institution situated in my district. After graduating, Evers worked on the Regional Council of Negro Leadership, which provided him with critical training in activism. Then, in 1954, he applied to the University of Mississippi School of Law, and despite the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, his application was rejected.
After the rejection by the University of Mississippi School of Law, Mr. Evers accepted the position of State field secretary for the NAACP. Over a 9-year period, Mr. Evers crisscrossed the State, working to get African Americans involved in civil rights activism and to register to vote.
Even though racial discrimination and oppression had polluted the minds of an overwhelming majority of Whites in Mississippi and throughout the South, Mr. Evers led many of the fights against injustice. His dogged pursuit for justice made him a target for hate, and on June 12, 1963, Mr. Evers was gunned down in the driveway of his home and later died at a local hospital.
Designating the home of Medgar Evers a national monument will be an everlasting tribute to his legacy and journey that countless Americans undertook for equality.
This legislation is of great personal importance to me because I, like many others, was inspired by the magnitude of the determination of Mr. Evers to dedicate himself to others and fight against adversity. I am honored to walk the path paved by such a civil rights icon.
H.R. 4895 is a bipartisan measure. Representative Rob Bishop of Utah is an original cosponsor.
Additionally, it adds significant support from stakeholders. I received letters of support for H.R. 4895 from Tougaloo College, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and the Jackson Historic Preservation Commission.
Mr. Speaker, I include these letters of support in the Record. Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS, January 29, 2018. Hon. Rob Bishop, Chairman, Natural Resources Committee, Washington, DC.
Dear Congressman Bishop: I have discussed with the leadership of Tougaloo College's Board of Trustees the plan to designate the Medgar Evers Home Museum as a national monument through congressional legislation. We have reviewed the proposed draft legislation and spoken with Congressman Bennie G. Thompson, our congressional representative. We have also spoken with the Mrs. Myrlie Evers Williams and her daughter. We have received no opposition to the plan to move forward with this designation through congressional legislation.
We support the transfer of ownership to the National Park Services, if the legislation passes. We are inspired by the distinction this designation would mean for the Medgar Evers Home and the legacy of Medgar Evers. We are also encouraged to know the Home would be maintained by the National Park Services. We are equally encouraged that there will be opportunities for the College to continue to play a role with the Home through interpretative and educational programming as well as other learning opportunities that might be available for our students.
Thank you for contacting Tougaloo College. We look forward to hearing from you regarding the next steps. Sincerely, Beverly W. Hogan, President. ____ Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Historic Preservation Division, Jackson, MS, February 5, 2018. Re Medgar Evers National Monument. Mr. Terry Camp, Professional Staff, Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
Dear Mr. Camp: The Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) is pleased to know that the Committee of Natural Resources will be considering House Bill 4895, which would establish the Medgar and Myrlie Evers House in Jackson, Mississippi, as a National Monument. The Medgar and Myrlie Evers House was designated as a Mississippi Landmark in 1993 and for the past two decades, MDAH has worked closely with the property's owner, Tougaloo College, on the house's restoration. In 2017, the Medgar and Myrlie Evers House was designated as a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior. Thanks to all those efforts, the house is now an important venue for telling the stories of Mississippi's Civil Rights struggle and explaining how the dedication and labors of one couple changed not only Mississippi but the nation as a whole. With the recent opening of the new Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, those stories have an even wider audience.
We certainly appreciate the efforts of Congressman Thompson in drafting this legislation and join our friends and colleagues at Tougaloo College in wholeheartedly endorsing House Bill 4895. Sincerely, Kenneth H. P'Pool, Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer. ____ Jackson Historic Preservation Commission, Jackson, MS, February 5, 2018. Hon. Rob Bishop, Chairman, Natural Resources Committee, Washington, DC.
Dear Congressman Bishop: I have reviewed the Bill H.R. 4895 and the Legislative Hearing Memo on this bill with other Jackson Historic Preservation Commissioners. I enthusiastically support the establishment of the Medgar Evers National Monument under the purview of the National Park Service.
Medgar Evers was Field Secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi from January 1955 until his assassination on 12 June 1963, in front of this house. The house was designated as Jackson local landmark in 1992 and the neighborhood surrounding the house was designated a local historic district, called the Medgar Evers Neighborhood Historic District, in 1994.
We are inspired by the establishment of the Medgar Evers National Monument would mean for the Medgar Evers Home, the legacy of Medgar Evers, and for the Medgar Evers historic neighborhood. We are also encouraged that there will be opportunities for Jackson Historic Preservation Commission to continue to play a role in preserving Medgar Evers Neighborhood Historic District.
Thank you for contacting Jackson Historic Preservation Commission. As the chairman of Jackson Historic Preservation Commission, I urge the committee to offer favorable consideration to this request for establishing the Medgar Evers National Monument in the State of Mississippi, and for other purposes. Sincerely, Jeff Seabold, Chairman.
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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for his very kind yielding of time.
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