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1925 - 1963
Birthplace: Decatur, Mississippi
Medgar Evers was one of the first martyrs of the civil-rights movement. He was born in 1925 in Decatur, Mississippi to James and Jessie Evers. After a short stint in the army, he enrolled in Alcorn A&M College, graduating in 1952. His first job out of college was traveling around rural Mississippi selling insurance. He soon grew enraged at the despicable conditions of poor black families in his state, and joined the NAACP. In 1954, he was appointed Mississippi's first field secretary.
Evers was outspoken, and his demands were radical for his rigidly segregated state. He fought for the enforcement of the 1954 court decision of Brown v. Board of Education of Topekawhich outlawed school segregation; he fought for the right to vote, and he advocated boycotting merchants who discriminated. He worked unceasingly despite the threats of violence that his speeches engendered. He gave much of himself to this struggle, and in 1963, he gave his life. On June 13, 1963, he drove home from a meeting, stepped out of his car, and was shot in the back.
Immediately after Evers's death, the shotgun that was used to kill him was found in bushes nearby, with the owner's fingerprints still fresh. Byron de la Beckwith, a vocal member of a local white-supremacist group, was arrested. Despite the evidence against him, which included an earlier statement that he wanted to kill Evers, two trials with all-white juries ended in deadlock decisions, and Beckwith walked free. Twenty years later, in 1989, information surfaced that suggested the jury in both trials had been tampered with. The assistant District Attorney, with the help of Evers's widow, began putting together a new case. On February 5, 1994, a multiracial jury re-tried Beckwith and found him guilty of the crime.
The loss of Evers changed the tenor of the civil-rights struggle. Anger replaced fear in the south, as hundreds of demonstrators marched in protect. His death prompted President John Kennedyto ask Congress for a comprehensive civil-rights bill, which President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the following year. Evers's death, as his life had, contributed much to the struggle for equality.
Dropping out of high school at 17 to join the army, Evers served in World War II. Returning home, he finished high school and later graduated from Alcorn A & M College. After working at Magnolia Mutual Insurance, one of the few black-owned businesses in the state, Evers became an NAACP field secretary in Jackson. His civil rights work made him many enemies, and on June 11, 1963, Evers was shot and killed by white supremacist Byron de la Beckwith. His wife, Myrlie Evers-Williams, carried on his work.
Senate adopts resolution designating
June 9-16, 2003
Medgar Evers National Week of Remembrance
Washington, D.C. The United States Senate has adopted a resolution declaring the week of June 9-16, 2003, the Medgar Evers National Week of Remembrance, according to Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS).
A 1954 graduate of Alcorn State University, Evers served as the first NAACP field secretary in Mississippi. He fought for the enforcement of the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Evers also worked for employment opportunities, the desegregation of public facilities and accommodation, and to encourage African Americans to register and vote.
A veteran of World War II, he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
The legacy of Medgar Evers continues through the Medgar Evers Institute in Jackson, Mississippi, and the Medgar Evers College in New York City. This resolution commemorates his lasting influence and his pursuit of freedom and equality, Cochran said.
Medgar Evers, State Secretary for the NAACP in Jackson, Mississippi, is seen in this Aug. 9, 1955, photo.
The hole made by the .30 caliber bullet which mortally wounded Medgar Evers. A bullet passed through Evers and into the window, which reflects the car Evers was exiting when shot in back.
Myrlie Louise Evers, widow of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, leans down to kiss her late husband's forehead before the casket was opened for public viewing at a funeral home in Jackson, Miss., June 13, 1963. With Mrs. Evers is Charles Evers, her brother-in-law.
Mourners file past the open casket of Medgar Evers in Jackson, Mississippi, June 15, 1963, prior to funeral services for the slain integration leader.
A woman and two small children stand at the door of a baggage car in Meridian, Mississippi, June 16, 1963, after the casket containing the body of Medgar Evers was transferred to the train for the trip to Washington, D.C. and burial.
Myrlie Louise Evers cries at her late husband's funeral at Arlington National Cemetery, June 19, 1963. Sitting next to her is her daughter Reena Denise and son Darrell. Evers, a World War II veteran, was buried with full military honors.
Byron de la Beckwith, 42, of Greenwood, Miss., is escorted into the Jackson Police station early June 23, 1963, to be arraigned on federal charges in the ambush murder of integration leader Medgar Evers. Shortly afterward, state murder charges were filed against Beckwith. FBI agents escorting handcuffed Beckwith, are unidentified.
Ten-year-old Reena Evers wipes away a tear at the graveside of her father, Medgar Evers, June 25, 1964. The family placed a wreath at the grave to mark the one-year anniversary of Evers' death. Standing with Reena are her mother and her brother, Darrell. At left rear, Philip Gordon of Detroit holds James Evers, 4
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