Evers Home Could Become National Park Site

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Federal legislation could further protect the historic home of slain Mississippi civil rights leader Medgar Evers.

The state’s two U.S. senators, Republicans Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, said Friday that they’ve filed a bill that could lead to the home becoming a National Park Service site.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi introduced a similar bill earlier. Both measures would authorize a study on the national significance of the home, where Evers was assassinated in 1963.

The proposals are supported by Tougaloo College, which has owned the Evers home since 1993. The home has been a museum since 1997, and curator Minnie Watson says it underwent its third restoration several months ago.