Hank Johnson: “Mr. Speaker, as we begin Black History Month, I rise in support of H. Res. 1022, to honor the life of Medgar Evers and…”

“Mr. Speaker, as we begin Black History Month, I rise in support of H. Res. 1022, to honor the life of Medgar Evers and congratulate the United States Navy for naming a ship in his honor. Medgar Evers was born in Decatur, Mississippi, on July 2, 1925, and he was murdered on June 12, 1963, in the driveway of his Jackson, Mississippi, home. His upbringing was marked by the racism and violence of that time. Before Evers even reached high school, he had endured the lynching of a close family friend. As a young man, Mr. Evers was determined to get his education. He earned his high school diploma, enduring taunts and abuse from white schoolchildren. In 1943, he was drafted into the Army, and he bravely fought for his country at the Battle of Normandy and was honorably discharged in 1946. Upon his return home, Mr. Evers completed a degree in business administration at Alcorn State University. He played football, ran track, joined the debate team, and sang in the university choir. He married his classmate, Myrlie Beasley, in 1951.”