COCHRAN APPLAUDS DECISION TO NAME U.S. NAVY VESSEL
FOR MEDGAR EVERS OF MISSISSIPPI

Navy to Name T-AKE Cargo Ship for Slain Civil Rights Leader

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran today issued the following statement regarding the announcement that the U.S. Navy will name a new T-AKE cargo ship for Medgar Evers, the slain civil rights leader from Mississippi.

“Through his life and tragic death, Medgar Evers demonstrated a commitment to service and sacrifice, and I think it is fitting that the Navy is naming a ship in his honor.  He has an esteemed place in the history of Mississippi and the nation, and this honor should bring even greater attention to his civil rights legacy.”

The Navy’s T-AKE ships are used to deliver ammunition, food and cargo to other vessels at sea.  The decision to name the ship for Evers was announced Friday by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, who is a former governor of Mississippi.

In 2003, in recognition of the 40th anniversary of Evers’ assassination, Cochran authored a resolution to designate a “Medgar Evers National Week of Remembrance,” as well as to recognize the civil rights accomplishments of Evers’ widow, Myrlie Evers-Williams.  More recently, the Senator has worked to secure funding to support the restoration of the historic Farish Street NAACP office in Jackson that Evers used before his death.